Ortiz, J. L.; Thirouin, A.; Campo Bagatin, A.; Duffard, R.; Licandro, J.; Richardson, D. C.; Santos-Sanz, P.; Morales, N.; Benavidez, P. G.
Referencia bibliográfica
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 419, Issue 3, pp. 2315-2324.
Fecha de publicación:
1
2012
Número de citas
39
Número de citas referidas
39
Descripción
We present several lines of evidence, based on different kinds of
observations, and we conclude that it is likely that rotational fission
has occurred for a fraction of the known trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).
It is also likely that a number of binary systems have formed from that
process in the trans-Neptunian belt. We show that Haumea is,
potentially, an example of an object that has suffered rotational
fission. Its current fast spin would be a slight evolution of a
primordial fast spin, rather than the result of a catastrophic
collision. This is because the percentage of objects rotating faster
than 4 h would not be small in a Maxwellian distribution of spin rates,
which fits the current TNO rotation data base. Besides, the specific
total angular momentum of Haumea and its satellites falls close to that
of the high-size-ratio asteroid binaries, which are thought to be the
result of rotational fission or mass shedding. We also present N-body
simulations of rotational fission applied to the case of Haumea. These
show that this process is feasible; it might have generated satellites,
and it might have even created a 'family' of bodies orbitally associated
to Haumea. The orbitally associated bodies might come from the direct
ejection of fragments, according to our simulations, or through the
evolution of a proto-satellite formed during the fission event. The
disruption of an escaped fragment after the fission might also create
the orbitally related bodies. If any of these mechanisms are correct,
other rotational fission families could be detectable in the
trans-Neptunian belt in the future. Perhaps, TNO pairs might even be
found (i.e. pairs of bodies sharing very similar orbital elements but
not bound together).
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