Related papers: Satellite formation around the largest asteroids
Asteroid families are formed as the result of collisions. Large fragments are ejected with speeds of the order of the escape velocity from the parent body. After the family formation, the fragments' orbits evolve in the space of proper…
We explore the possibility that extended disks, such as that recently discovered in M31, are the result of a single dwarf (10^9--10^10 Msun) satellite merger. We carry out N-body simulations of dwarf NFW halos with embedded spheriodal…
We examine characteristics of circumbinary orbits in the context of current planet formation scenarios. Analytical perturbation theory predicts the existence of nested circumbinary orbits that are generalizations of circular paths around a…
The growth channel of massive galaxies involving mergers can be studied via close pairs as putative merger progenitors, where the stellar populations of the satellite galaxies will be eventually incorporated into the massive primaries. We…
Given the compositional diversity of asteroids, and their distribution in space, it is impossible to consider returning samples from each one to establish their origin. However, the velocity and molecular composition of primary minerals,…
The discovery that the centaur (10199) Chariklo possesses a ring system opens questions about their origin. We here asses the plausibility of different scenarios for the origin of the observed ring system. We first consider the possibility…
Deflecting an asteroid from an Earth impact trajectory requires only small velocity changes, typically of the order of microns per second, if done many years ahead of time. For this, a highly precise method of determining the need,…
The distribution of asteroids across the Main Belt has been studied for decades to understand the compositional distribution and what that tells us about the formation and evolution of our solar system. All-sky surveys now provide orders of…
Asteroid discoveries are essential for planetary-defense efforts aiming to prevent impacts with Earth, including the more frequent megaton explosions from decameter impactors. While large asteroids ($\geq$100 km) have remained in the main…
The Milky Way satellite galaxies show a phase-space distribution that is not expected from the standard scenario of galaxy formation. This is a strong hint at them being of tidal origin, which would naturally explain their spacial…
Recent direct imaging discoveries suggest a new class of massive, distant planets around A stars. These widely separated giants have been interpreted as signs of planet formation driven by gravitational instability, but the viability of…
We study the distribution of orbital eccentricities of stars in thick disks generated by the heating of a pre-existing thin stellar disk through a minor merger (mass ratio 1:10), using N-body/SPH numerical simulations of interactions that…
While of order a million asteroids have been discovered, the number in rigorously controlled samples that have precise orbits and rotation periods, as well as well-measured colors, is relatively small. In particular, less than a dozen…
We have studied the radial distribution of the early (E/S0) and late (S/Irr) types of satellites around bright host galaxies. We made a volume-limited sample of 4,986 satellites brighter than M_r = -18.0 associated with 2,254 hosts brighter…
While the number of asteroids with known shapes has drastically increased over the past few years, little is known on the the time-evolution of shapes and the underlying physical processes. Here we propose an averaged abrasion model based…
We study the stability of the (87) Sylvia system and of the neighborhood of its two satellites. We use numerical integrations considering the non-sphericity of Sylvia, as well as the mutual perturbation of the satellites and the solar…
Large or even medium sized asteroids impacting the Earth can cause damage on a global scale. Existing and planned concepts for finding near-Earth objects (NEOs) with diameter of 140 m or larger would take ~15-20 years of observation to find…
We present preliminary results from a series of high-resolution N-body simulations that focus on 8 dark matter halos each of order a million particles within the virial radius. We follow the time evolution of hundreds of individually…
We analyze the angular distribution and the orbital rotation directions of a sample of carefully-selected satellite galaxies extracted from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We also study these statistics in an N-body simulation of…
Debris disks are the dust disks found around ~20% of nearby main sequence stars in far-IR surveys. They can be considered as descendants of protoplanetary disks or components of planetary systems, providing valuable information on…