The Shape Entropy of Small Bodies

Yanshuo Ni (), He Zhang, Junfeng Li, Hexi Baoyin and Jiaye Hu
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Yanshuo Ni: Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering, Beijing 100094, China
He Zhang: Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering, Beijing 100094, China
Junfeng Li: School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Hexi Baoyin: School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Jiaye Hu: Aerospace Engineering Consulting (Beijing) Co., Ltd., China Aerospace Academy of Systems Science and Engineering, Beijing 100048, China

Mathematics, 2023, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-19

Abstract: The irregular shapes of small bodies usually lead to non-uniform distributions of mass, which makes dynamic behaviors in the vicinities of small bodies different to that of planets. This study proposes shape entropy (SE) as an index that compares the shapes of small bodies and spheres to describe the shape of a small body. The results of derivation and calculation of SE in two-dimensional and three-dimensional cases show that: SE is independent of the size of geometric figures but depends on the shape of the figures; the SE difference between a geometric figure and a circle or a sphere, which is the limit of SE value, reflects the difference between this figure and a circle or a sphere. Therefore, the description of shapes of small bodies, such as near-spherical, ellipsoid, and elongated, can be quantitatively described via a continuous index. Combining SE and the original inertia index, describing the shape of small bodies, can define the shapes of small bodies and provide a reasonably simple metric to describe a complex shape that is applicable to generalized discussion and analysis rather than highly detailed work on a specific, unique, polyhedral model.

Keywords: entropy; applied mathematics; mathematical physics; small body (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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