Evidence for multi-fragmentation and mass shedding of boulders on rubble-pile binary asteroid system (65803) Didymos

M. Pajola (), F. Tusberti, A. Lucchetti, O. Barnouin, S. Cambioni, C. M. Ernst, E. Dotto, R. T. Daly, G. Poggiali, M. Hirabayashi, R. Nakano, E. Mazzotta Epifani, N. L. Chabot, V. Corte, A. Rivkin, H. Agrusa, Y. Zhang, L. Penasa, R.-L. Ballouz, S. Ivanovski, N. Murdoch, A. Rossi, C. Robin, S. Ieva, J. B. Vincent, F. Ferrari, S. D. Raducan, A. Campo-Bagatin, L. Parro, P. Benavidez, G. Tancredi, Ö. Karatekin, J. M. Trigo-Rodriguez, J. Sunshine, T. Farnham, E. Asphaug, J. D. P. Deshapriya, P. H. A. Hasselmann, J. Beccarelli, S. R. Schwartz, P. Abell, P. Michel, A. Cheng, J. R. Brucato, A. Zinzi, M. Amoroso, S. Pirrotta, G. Impresario, I. Bertini, A. Capannolo, S. Caporali, M. Ceresoli, G. Cremonese, M. Dall’Ora, I. Gai, L. Gomez Casajus, E. Gramigna, R. Lasagni Manghi, M. Lavagna, M. Lombardo, D. Modenini, P. Palumbo, D. Perna, P. Tortora, M. Zannoni and G. Zanotti
Additional contact information
M. Pajola: INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova
F. Tusberti: INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova
A. Lucchetti: INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova
O. Barnouin: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
S. Cambioni: Massachussets Institute of Technology
C. M. Ernst: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
E. Dotto: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
R. T. Daly: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
G. Poggiali: INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
M. Hirabayashi: Georgia Institute of Technology
R. Nakano: Georgia Institute of Technology
E. Mazzotta Epifani: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
N. L. Chabot: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
V. Corte: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte
A. Rivkin: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
H. Agrusa: University of Maryland
Y. Zhang: University of Michigan
L. Penasa: INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova
R.-L. Ballouz: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
S. Ivanovski: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste
N. Murdoch: Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), Université de
A. Rossi: IFAC-CNR, Sesto Fiorentino
C. Robin: Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), Université de
S. Ieva: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
J. B. Vincent: DLR Berlin
F. Ferrari: Politecnico di Milano—Bovisa Campus
S. D. Raducan: University of Bern
A. Campo-Bagatin: Universidad de Alicante
L. Parro: Universidad de Alicante
P. Benavidez: Universidad de Alicante
G. Tancredi: Facultad Ciencias Igua
Ö. Karatekin: Royal Observatory of Belgium
J. M. Trigo-Rodriguez: CSIC) and Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC)
J. Sunshine: University of Maryland
T. Farnham: University of Maryland
E. Asphaug: Planetary Science Institute; University of Arizona
J. D. P. Deshapriya: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
P. H. A. Hasselmann: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
J. Beccarelli: INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova
S. R. Schwartz: Planetary Science Institute; University of Arizona
P. Abell: NASA Johnson Space Center
P. Michel: Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange
A. Cheng: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
J. R. Brucato: INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
A. Zinzi: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
M. Amoroso: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
S. Pirrotta: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
G. Impresario: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
I. Bertini: Università degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope”
A. Capannolo: Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), Université de
S. Caporali: INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
M. Ceresoli: Politecnico di Milano—Bovisa Campus
G. Cremonese: INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Padova
M. Dall’Ora: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte
I. Gai: Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna
L. Gomez Casajus: Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna
E. Gramigna: Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna
R. Lasagni Manghi: Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna
M. Lavagna: Politecnico di Milano—Bovisa Campus
M. Lombardo: Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna
D. Modenini: Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna
P. Palumbo: INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali
D. Perna: INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
P. Tortora: Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna
M. Zannoni: Alma Mater Studiorum—Università di Bologna
G. Zanotti: Politecnico di Milano—Bovisa Campus

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Asteroids smaller than 10 km are thought to be rubble piles formed from the reaccumulation of fragments produced in the catastrophic disruption of parent bodies. Ground-based observations reveal that some of these asteroids are today binary systems, in which a smaller secondary orbits a larger primary asteroid. However, how these asteroids became binary systems remains unclear. Here, we report the analysis of boulders on the surface of the stony asteroid (65803) Didymos and its moonlet, Dimorphos, from data collected by the NASA DART mission. The size-frequency distribution of boulders larger than 5 m on Dimorphos and larger than 22.8 m on Didymos confirms that both asteroids are piles of fragments produced in the catastrophic disruption of their progenitors. Dimorphos boulders smaller than 5 m have size best-fit by a Weibull distribution, which we attribute to a multi-phase fragmentation process either occurring during coalescence or during surface evolution. The density per km2 of Dimorphos boulders ≥1 m is 2.3x with respect to the one obtained for (101955) Bennu, while it is 3.0x with respect to (162173) Ryugu. Such values increase once Dimorphos boulders ≥5 m are compared with Bennu (3.5x), Ryugu (3.9x) and (25143) Itokawa (5.1x). This is of interest in the context of asteroid studies because it means that contrarily to the single bodies visited so far, binary systems might be affected by subsequential fragmentation processes that largely increase their block density per km2. Direct comparison between the surface distribution and shapes of the boulders on Didymos and Dimorphos suggest that the latter inherited its material from the former. This finding supports the hypothesis that some asteroid binary systems form through the spin up and mass shedding of a fraction of the primary asteroid.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50148-9

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