Angular momentum of binary asteroids: Implications for their possible origin

Abstract

We describe in this work a thorough study of the physical and orbital characteristics of extensively observed main-belt and trojan binaries, mainly taken from the LAOSA (Large Adaptive Optics Survey of Asteroids [Marchis, F., Baek, M., Berthier, J., Descamps, P., Hestroffer, D., Kaasalainen, M., Vachier, F., 2006c. In: Workshop on Spacecraft Reconnaissance of Asteroid and Comet Interiors. Abstract #3042]) database, along with a selection of bifurcated objects. Dimensionless quantities, such as the specific angular momentum and the scaled primary spin rate, are computed and discussed for each system. They suggest that these asteroidal systems might be the outcome of rotational fission or mass shedding of a parent body presumably subjected to an external torque. One of the most striking features of separated binaries composed of a large primary ( R p > 100 km ) with a much smaller secondary ( R s < 20 km ) is that they all have total angular momentum of ∼0.27. This value is quite close to the Maclaurin–Jacobi bifurcation (0.308) of a spinning fluid body. Alternatively, contact binaries and tidally locked double asteroids, made of components of similar size, have an angular momentum larger than 0.48. They compare successfully with the fission equilibrium sequence of a rotating fluid mass. In conclusion, we find that total angular momentum is a useful proxy to assess the internal structure of such systems.