Size and shape of Chariklo from multi-epoch stellar occultations
Abstract
We use data from five stellar occultations observed between 2013 and 2016 to constrain Chariklo's size and shape, and the ring reflectivity. We consider four possible models for Chariklo (sphere, Maclaurin spheroid, tri-axial ellipsoid and Jacobi ellipsoid) and we use a Bayesian approach to estimate the corresponding parameters. The spherical model has a radius km. The Maclaurin model has equatorial and polar radii km and km, respectively, with density kg m. The ellipsoidal model has semiaxes km, km and km. Finally, the Jacobi model has semiaxes =1574 km, =139 4 km and =861 km, and density kg m . Depending on the model, we obtain topographic features of 6-11 km, typical of Saturn icy satellites with similar size and density. We constrain Chariklo's geometric albedo between 3.1\% (sphere) and 4.9\% (ellipsoid), while the ring reflectivity is less constrained between 0.6\% (Jacobi) and 8.9\% (sphere). The ellipsoid model explains both the optical light curve and the long-term photometry variation of the system, giving a plausible value for the geometric albedo of the ring particles of . The derived Chariklo's mass of 6-8 kg places the rings close to the 3:1 resonance between the ring mean motion and Chariklo's rotation period.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1708.08934,
title = {Size and shape of Chariklo from multi-epoch stellar occultations},
author = {R Leiva and B Sicardy and J I B Camargo and J -L Ortiz and J Desmars and D Bérard and E Lellouch and E Meza and P Kervella and C Snodgrass and R Duffard and N Morales and A R Gomes-Júnior and G Benedetti-Rossi and R Vieira-Martins and F Braga-Ribas and M Assafin and B E Morgado and F Colas and C De Witt and A A Sickafoose and H Breytenbach and J -L Dauvergne and P Schoenau and L Maquet and K L Bath and H J Bode and A Cool and B Lade and S Kerr and D Herald},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1708.08934},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in AJ