Zodiacal Dust Bands: Their Relation to Asteroid Families.
Abstract
A mathematical model of the spatial distribution of orbitally evolve d collisional debris is developed which reproduces the zodiacal dust band phenomenon. The resultant torus has maxima in particle density at heliocentric latitudes near the mean proper orbital inclinations of its constituent particles, and near the locus of perihelia and aphelia of the particle orbits. These perihelion and aphelion band pairs are fund to have latitudinal and radial separations which are functions of the orbital elements (a, e, i) of the constituent particles, as well as the dispersions in those elements. Models of dust tori associated with seven asteroid families are generated and compared with observations of the principal dust band. Non-equilibrium models of dust band production and evolution offer a framework, it is found that both Themis and Eosasteroid families are much older than the Koronis family. Dust band particles appear not to have experienced any large orbital decay (more than few tenths of an AU) due to Poynting-Robertson drag. Keywords: Infrared; Solar system; Interplanetary dust; Asteroid families. (JHD)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 25, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA216025
Entities
People
- Mark V. Sykes