Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies
Context. Dynamical models of Solar System evolution have suggested that the so-called P- and D-type volatile-rich asteroids formed in the outer Solar System beyond Neptune’s orbit and may be genetically related to the Jupiter Trojans, comets, and small Kuiper belt objects (KBOs). Indeed, the spectra...
Published in: | Astronomy & Astrophysics |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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EDP Sciences
2021
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/1/aa40342-21.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/2/2103.06349.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210716-193605013 |
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openpolar |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) |
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language |
English |
description |
Context. Dynamical models of Solar System evolution have suggested that the so-called P- and D-type volatile-rich asteroids formed in the outer Solar System beyond Neptune’s orbit and may be genetically related to the Jupiter Trojans, comets, and small Kuiper belt objects (KBOs). Indeed, the spectral properties of P- and D-type asteroids resemble that of anhydrous cometary dust. Aims. We aim to gain insights into the above classes of bodies by characterizing the internal structure of a large P- and D-type asteroid. Methods. We report high-angular-resolution imaging observations of the P-type asteroid (87) Sylvia with the Very Large Telescope Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument. These images were used to reconstruct the 3D shape of Sylvia. Our images together with those obtained in the past with large ground-based telescopes were used to study the dynamics of its two satellites. We also modeled Sylvia’s thermal evolution. Results. The shape of Sylvia appears flattened and elongated (a/b ~1.45; a/c ~1.84). We derive a volume-equivalent diameter of 271 ± 5 km and a low density of 1378 ± 45 kg m⁻³. The two satellites orbit Sylvia on circular, equatorial orbits. The oblateness of Sylvia should imply a detectable nodal precession which contrasts with the fully-Keplerian dynamics of its two satellites. This reveals an inhomogeneous internal structure, suggesting that Sylvia is differentiated. Conclusions. Sylvia’s low density and differentiated interior can be explained by partial melting and mass redistribution through water percolation. The outer shell should be composed of material similar to interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and the core should be similar to aqueously altered IDPs or carbonaceous chondrite meteorites such as the Tagish Lake meteorite. Numerical simulations of the thermal evolution of Sylvia show that for a body of such a size, partial melting was unavoidable due to the decay of long-lived radionuclides. In addition, we show that bodies as small as 130–150 km in diameter should have followed a similar thermal evolution, while smaller objects, such as comets and the KBO Arrokoth, must have remained pristine, which is in agreement with in situ observations of these bodies. NASA Lucy mission target (617) Patroclus (diameter ≈140 km) may, however, be differentiated. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Carry, B. Vernazza, P. Vachier, F. Neveu, M. Berthier, J. Hanuš, J. Ferrais, M. Jorda, L. Marsset, M. Viikinkoski, M. Bartczak, P. Behrend, R. Benkhaldoun, Z. Birlan, M. Castillo-Rogez, J. Cipriani, F. Colas, F. Drouard, A. Dudziński, G. P. Desmars, J. Dumas, C. Ďurech, J. Fetick, R. Fusco, T. Grice, J. Jehin, E. Kaasalainen, M. Kryszczynska, A. Lamy, P. Marchis, F. Marciniak, A. Michalowski, T. Michel, P. Pajuelo, M. Podlewska-Gaca, E. Rambaux, N. Santana-Ros, T. Storrs, A. Tanga, P. Vigan, A. Warner, B. Wieczorek, M. Witasse, O. Yang, B. |
spellingShingle |
Carry, B. Vernazza, P. Vachier, F. Neveu, M. Berthier, J. Hanuš, J. Ferrais, M. Jorda, L. Marsset, M. Viikinkoski, M. Bartczak, P. Behrend, R. Benkhaldoun, Z. Birlan, M. Castillo-Rogez, J. Cipriani, F. Colas, F. Drouard, A. Dudziński, G. P. Desmars, J. Dumas, C. Ďurech, J. Fetick, R. Fusco, T. Grice, J. Jehin, E. Kaasalainen, M. Kryszczynska, A. Lamy, P. Marchis, F. Marciniak, A. Michalowski, T. Michel, P. Pajuelo, M. Podlewska-Gaca, E. Rambaux, N. Santana-Ros, T. Storrs, A. Tanga, P. Vigan, A. Warner, B. Wieczorek, M. Witasse, O. Yang, B. Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies |
author_facet |
Carry, B. Vernazza, P. Vachier, F. Neveu, M. Berthier, J. Hanuš, J. Ferrais, M. Jorda, L. Marsset, M. Viikinkoski, M. Bartczak, P. Behrend, R. Benkhaldoun, Z. Birlan, M. Castillo-Rogez, J. Cipriani, F. Colas, F. Drouard, A. Dudziński, G. P. Desmars, J. Dumas, C. Ďurech, J. Fetick, R. Fusco, T. Grice, J. Jehin, E. Kaasalainen, M. Kryszczynska, A. Lamy, P. Marchis, F. Marciniak, A. Michalowski, T. Michel, P. Pajuelo, M. Podlewska-Gaca, E. Rambaux, N. Santana-Ros, T. Storrs, A. Tanga, P. Vigan, A. Warner, B. Wieczorek, M. Witasse, O. Yang, B. |
author_sort |
Carry, B. |
title |
Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies |
title_short |
Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies |
title_full |
Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies |
title_fullStr |
Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies |
title_sort |
evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies |
publisher |
EDP Sciences |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/1/aa40342-21.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/2/2103.06349.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210716-193605013 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(101.133,101.133,-66.117,-66.117) ENVELOPE(-134.272,-134.272,60.313,60.313) ENVELOPE(-134.233,-134.233,59.717,59.717) |
geographic |
Jupiter Tagish Tagish Lake |
geographic_facet |
Jupiter Tagish Tagish Lake |
genre |
Tagish |
genre_facet |
Tagish |
op_relation |
https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/1/aa40342-21.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/2/2103.06349.pdf Carry, B. and Vernazza, P. and Vachier, F. and Neveu, M. and Berthier, J. and Hanuš, J. and Ferrais, M. and Jorda, L. and Marsset, M. and Viikinkoski, M. and Bartczak, P. and Behrend, R. and Benkhaldoun, Z. and Birlan, M. and Castillo-Rogez, J. and Cipriani, F. and Colas, F. and Drouard, A. and Dudziński, G. P. and Desmars, J. and Dumas, C. and Ďurech, J. and Fetick, R. and Fusco, T. and Grice, J. and Jehin, E. and Kaasalainen, M. and Kryszczynska, A. and Lamy, P. and Marchis, F. and Marciniak, A. and Michalowski, T. and Michel, P. and Pajuelo, M. and Podlewska-Gaca, E. and Rambaux, N. and Santana-Ros, T. and Storrs, A. and Tanga, P. and Vigan, A. and Warner, B. and Wieczorek, M. and Witasse, O. and Yang, B. (2021) Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 650 . Art. No. A129. ISSN 0004-6361. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202140342. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210716-193605013 <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210716-193605013> |
op_rights |
cc_by cc_by_nc_nd |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY CC-BY-NC-ND |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140342 |
container_title |
Astronomy & Astrophysics |
container_volume |
650 |
container_start_page |
A129 |
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ftcaltechauth:oai:authors.library.caltech.edu:109879 2023-05-15T18:30:07+02:00 Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies Carry, B. Vernazza, P. Vachier, F. Neveu, M. Berthier, J. Hanuš, J. Ferrais, M. Jorda, L. Marsset, M. Viikinkoski, M. Bartczak, P. Behrend, R. Benkhaldoun, Z. Birlan, M. Castillo-Rogez, J. Cipriani, F. Colas, F. Drouard, A. Dudziński, G. P. Desmars, J. Dumas, C. Ďurech, J. Fetick, R. Fusco, T. Grice, J. Jehin, E. Kaasalainen, M. Kryszczynska, A. Lamy, P. Marchis, F. Marciniak, A. Michalowski, T. Michel, P. Pajuelo, M. Podlewska-Gaca, E. Rambaux, N. Santana-Ros, T. Storrs, A. Tanga, P. Vigan, A. Warner, B. Wieczorek, M. Witasse, O. Yang, B. 2021-06 application/pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/ https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/1/aa40342-21.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/2/2103.06349.pdf https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210716-193605013 en eng EDP Sciences https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/1/aa40342-21.pdf https://authors.library.caltech.edu/109879/2/2103.06349.pdf Carry, B. and Vernazza, P. and Vachier, F. and Neveu, M. and Berthier, J. and Hanuš, J. and Ferrais, M. and Jorda, L. and Marsset, M. and Viikinkoski, M. and Bartczak, P. and Behrend, R. and Benkhaldoun, Z. and Birlan, M. and Castillo-Rogez, J. and Cipriani, F. and Colas, F. and Drouard, A. and Dudziński, G. P. and Desmars, J. and Dumas, C. and Ďurech, J. and Fetick, R. and Fusco, T. and Grice, J. and Jehin, E. and Kaasalainen, M. and Kryszczynska, A. and Lamy, P. and Marchis, F. and Marciniak, A. and Michalowski, T. and Michel, P. and Pajuelo, M. and Podlewska-Gaca, E. and Rambaux, N. and Santana-Ros, T. and Storrs, A. and Tanga, P. and Vigan, A. and Warner, B. and Wieczorek, M. and Witasse, O. and Yang, B. (2021) Evidence for differentiation of the most primitive small bodies. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 650 . Art. No. A129. ISSN 0004-6361. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202140342. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210716-193605013 <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210716-193605013> cc_by cc_by_nc_nd CC-BY CC-BY-NC-ND Article PeerReviewed 2021 ftcaltechauth https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140342 2021-07-22T17:18:26Z Context. Dynamical models of Solar System evolution have suggested that the so-called P- and D-type volatile-rich asteroids formed in the outer Solar System beyond Neptune’s orbit and may be genetically related to the Jupiter Trojans, comets, and small Kuiper belt objects (KBOs). Indeed, the spectral properties of P- and D-type asteroids resemble that of anhydrous cometary dust. Aims. We aim to gain insights into the above classes of bodies by characterizing the internal structure of a large P- and D-type asteroid. Methods. We report high-angular-resolution imaging observations of the P-type asteroid (87) Sylvia with the Very Large Telescope Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument. These images were used to reconstruct the 3D shape of Sylvia. Our images together with those obtained in the past with large ground-based telescopes were used to study the dynamics of its two satellites. We also modeled Sylvia’s thermal evolution. Results. The shape of Sylvia appears flattened and elongated (a/b ~1.45; a/c ~1.84). We derive a volume-equivalent diameter of 271 ± 5 km and a low density of 1378 ± 45 kg m⁻³. The two satellites orbit Sylvia on circular, equatorial orbits. The oblateness of Sylvia should imply a detectable nodal precession which contrasts with the fully-Keplerian dynamics of its two satellites. This reveals an inhomogeneous internal structure, suggesting that Sylvia is differentiated. Conclusions. Sylvia’s low density and differentiated interior can be explained by partial melting and mass redistribution through water percolation. The outer shell should be composed of material similar to interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and the core should be similar to aqueously altered IDPs or carbonaceous chondrite meteorites such as the Tagish Lake meteorite. Numerical simulations of the thermal evolution of Sylvia show that for a body of such a size, partial melting was unavoidable due to the decay of long-lived radionuclides. In addition, we show that bodies as small as 130–150 km in diameter should have followed a similar thermal evolution, while smaller objects, such as comets and the KBO Arrokoth, must have remained pristine, which is in agreement with in situ observations of these bodies. NASA Lucy mission target (617) Patroclus (diameter ≈140 km) may, however, be differentiated. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tagish Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) Jupiter ENVELOPE(101.133,101.133,-66.117,-66.117) Tagish ENVELOPE(-134.272,-134.272,60.313,60.313) Tagish Lake ENVELOPE(-134.233,-134.233,59.717,59.717) Astronomy & Astrophysics 650 A129 |