Collisional Processes in the Solar System

362 Pages·2001·9.644 MB·English

by  B. A. Ivanov, G. Neukum, R. Wagner (auth.), Mikhail Ya. Marov, Hans Rickman (eds.)

COLLISIONAL PROCESSES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
ASTROPHYSICS AND
SPACE SCIENCE LIBRARY
VOLUME 261
EDITORIAL BOARD
Chairman
W. B. BURTON, Sterrewacht, Leiden, P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
[email protected]
Executive Committee
J. M. E. KUIJPERS, Faculty of Science, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
E. p. J. VAN DEN HEUVEL, Astronomical Institute, University of Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
H. VAN DER LAAN, Astronomical Institute, University of Utrecht,
The Netherlands
MEMBERS
I. APPENZELLER, Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Konigstuhl, Germany
J. N. BAHCALL, The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, US.A.
F. BERTOLA, Universifli di Padova, Italy
J. P. CASSINELLI, University of Wisconsin, Madison, US.A.
C. J. CESARSKY, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
O. ENGVOLD, Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, Norway
R. McCRAY, University of Colorado, JlLA, Boulder, US.A.
P. G. MURDIN, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Cambridge, UK.
F. PACINI, Istituto Astronomia Arcetri, Firenze, Italy
V. RADHAKRISHNAN, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India
K. SATO, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan
F. H. SHU, University of California, Berkeley, US.A.
B. V. SOMOV, Astronomical Institute, Moscow State University, Russia
R. A. SUNYAEV, Space Research Institute, Moscow, Russia
Y. TANAKA, Institute of Space & Astronautical Science, Kanagawa, Japan
S. TREMAINE, CITA, Princeton University, U.S.A.
N. O. WEISS, University of Cambridge, UK.
COLLISIONAL PROCESSES
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Edited by
MIKHAIL YA. MAROV
Keldysh Institute ofA pplied Mathematics,
Moscow, Russia
and
HANS RICKMAN
Astronomical Observatory,
Uppsala, Sweden
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Collisional processes in the solar system 1 edited by Mikhail Ya. Marov and Hans Rickman.
p. cm. -- (Astrophysics and space science library; v. 261)
Includes index.
ISBN 978-94-010-3832-4 ISBN 978-94-010-0712-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-010-0712-2
1. Collisions (Astropliysics) 2. Solar system. 1. Marov, Mikhail IAkovlevich. IT.
Rickman, Hans. ITI. Series.
QB466.C64 C65 200 l
523.2--dc21
2001029529
ISBN 978-94-010-3832-4
Printed on acid-free paper
Ali Rights Reserved
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2001
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface vii-x
B.A. IVANOV, G. NEUKUM, and R. WAGNER / Size-frequency
distributions of planetary impact craters and asteroids 1-34
Z. CEPLECHA / The meteoroidal influx to the Earth 35-50
W.F. BOTTKE, JR., and R. GREENBERG / The impact record
on asteroid surfaces 51-71
H.F. LEVISON, and M.J. DUNCAN / Cometary Dynamics 73-90
J.J. MATESE, KA. INNANEN, and M.J. VALTONEN / Variable
Oort cloud flux due to the Galactic tide 91-102
M.R. RAMPINO / Galactic triggering of periodic comet showers
and mass extinctions on Earth 103-120
D.J. ASHER, M.E. BAILEY, and D.1. STEEL / The role of non
gravitational forces in decoupling orbits from Jupiter 121-130
H. RICKMAN, J.A. FERNANDEZ, G. TANCREDI, and J. LI
CANDRO / The cometary contribution to planetary impact
craters 131-142
D. JEWITT, and Y. FERNANDEZ / Physical properties of planet
crossing objects 143-161
KJ. MEECH, and O.R. HAINAUT / Distant comet observations 163-172
K YOSHINAGA, E. KOKUBO, and J. MAKINO / Long-term
orbital evolution of protoplanets 173-180
W.-H. IP, and J.A. FERNANDEZ / Accretional origin of the giant
planets and its consequences 181-201
S. IDA, E. KOKUBO, and T. TAKEDA / N-body simulations of
Moon accretion 203-222
VI
M.YA. MAROV, and S.l. IPATOV / Volatile inventory and early
evolution of the planetary atmospheres 223-247
T.C. OWEN, and A. BAR-NUN / From the interstellar medium
to planetary atmospheres via comets 249-264
A.V. KRIVOV, and M. BANASZKIEWICZ / Dust influx to Titan
from Hyperion 265-276
D.R. DAVIS, and P.F. FARINELLA / Collisional effects in the
Edgeworth-Kuiper belt 277-285
D.R. DAVIS / In Memoriam: Paolo Farinella 287-288
A. MORBIDELLI / Origin and evolution of near Earth asteroids 289-302
V. ZAPPALA, and A. CELLINO / Formation of asteroid families
and delivery of NEO showers from the main belt 303-321
A.W. HARRIS / Near-Earth asteroid surveys 323-332
A. CARUSI / NEO, the Spaceguard system and the Spaceguard
Foundation 333-349
PREFACE
The exploration of our Solar System is rapidly growing in importance
as a scientific discipline. During the last decades, great progress has been
achieved as the result of space missions to planets and small bodies - as
teroids and comets - and improved remote-sensing methods, as well as due
to refined techniques of laboratory measurements and a rapid progress in
theoretical studies, involving the development of various astrophysical and
geophysical models. These models are based, in particular, on the approach
of comparative planetology becoming a powerful tool in revealing evolu
tionary processes which have been shaping the planets since their origin.
Comets and asteroids, being identified as remnants of planetary formation,
serve as a clue to the reconstruction of Solar System history because they
encapsulated the primordial material from which the planets were built up.
At the same time, these interplanetary carriers of original matter and mes
sengers from the past, being triggered by dynamical processes well outside
our neighboring space, were responsible for numerous catastrophic events
when impacting on the planets and thus causing dramatic changes of their
natural conditions.
In the crossroads of astronomy and geophysics, recent years have seen a
growing understanding of the importance of collisional processes through
out the history of the Solar System and, therefore, the necessity to get
more insight into the problem of interactions of planets and small bodies.
This importance is clearly manifested by the observed cratering records
on planetary surfaces and such dramatic events as the explosions of comet
D/Shoemaker-Levy 9 fragments in Jupiter's atmosphere in 1994, that of the
Tunguska object over Siberia in 1908, and the Chicxulub event dating back
to the end of the Cretaceous. The significance of impact processes in plane
tary evolution is demonstrated not only by the obvious fact that comets and
asteroids scar the planetary surfaces, but also by the progressively collected
evidence that they dramatically influenced the evolution of the atmosphere
and hydrosphere of the Earth and atmospheres of other planets. Indeed, de
position of cometary-like volatiles through impact processes is considered
to be an important contributor to the origin of secondary atmospheres on
the inner planets. These impacts, at later times, probably have repeatedly
vii
Vlll
interfered with the Earth's biological evolution and may once have been
essential for even starting this evolution.
Currently part of the Near-Earth Objects (NEO) population, closely
approaching the Earth's orbit, represents a potential threat to our civi
lization. At the same time, the asteroidal and cometary populations have
been continuously shaped by planetary gravity, resulting in a preferential
flux of meteorites originating in resonant zones of the main belt, and, fur
ther out in the Solar System, the formation of dynamical structure in the
recently discovered Edgeworth-Kuiper belt populated by trans-Neptunian
small bodies. In addition, comets are known to be continually tossed around
by close encounters with the planets, and an understanding of their dy
namics is necessary in order to assess the cometary inventory of the Solar
System and its slow "evaporation" into interstellar space. Indeed, comets
provide the link of our Solar System with the Galaxy in several respects,
e.g., through tidal perturbation of the Oort cloud by the Galactic mass
distribution and thus modulation of comet flux thrown inward the Solar
System, and by probing pristine material of the presolar cloud delivered by
the comets. The various processes accompanying their interactions with the
planets offer an opportunity to understand better both the nature of these
primitive small bodies and their role in planetary cosmogony and Galac
tic evolution, thereby bridging the tiny place of our habitat to the entire
Galaxy.
The explosive growth of knowledge in the field of space exploration and,
in particular, the interdisciplinary character of the subject of collisions in
the Solar System, put the scientific interests of planetary and Galactic
astronomers, as well as specialists in geophysics, dynamics, and cosmo
chemistry, in a common focus. This is why the subject was included in the
program of the XXIII General Assembly of the International Astronomical
Union in Kyoto in 1997, where a Joint Discussion (JD 6) entitled "Interac
tions between planets and small bodies" was held. It offered an invaluable
opportunity to gather a wide community for free and open-minded discus
sions. The topic and program of the meeting brought together astronomers
dealing with both observations and theory and allowed to give an outlook
to the formation and evolution of planetary systems in general, being also
relevant to the problem of Galactic evolution. Short versions of some and
an overview of the other presented papers and posters were published in
1998 in the IAU Proceedings (Highlights in Astronomy, IIA, pp. 219-276,
ed. J. Andersen, assisted by M. Marov and H. Rickman). Simultaneously,
we supported the suggestion by Prof. W.B. Burton to publish a book fo
cused on the collisional processes in the Solar System as a volume of the
Astrophysics & Space Science Library (ASSL) book series. It allowed us to
encourage the JD participants to publish their full size and upgraded papers
PREFACE ix
and, additionally, to broaden up the team of contributors to the volume.
We considered the idea to issue a book focused on the intriguing topic of in
teractions of Solar System bodies and their implications as a challenge and
feasible to implement with appreciation of the colleagues we have invited.
World recognized experts in the field are in the list of authors, which makes
the book a comprehensive edition representing state-of-the-art knowledge
of the collisional aspect of Solar System evolution, and allows to consider
it as a valuable reference book.
As the work on the book approached its final phases, we received the sad
news of the passing away of one of the authors, Paolo Farinella. His out
standing achievements and warm personality are described in a memorial
added to his chapter by his co-author, D.R. Davis. In fact, his career paral
leled the explosive growth of the field covered by this book while spanning
most of its essential aspects. May his bright memory continue to inspire
the young ones who enter the field in ever increasing numbers.
The overall content of the volume comprises 21 papers divided into five
sections, which cover essentially all problems of primary importance and
interest. These are: Impactors and Cratering in the Solar System; Comets
and Asteroids: Observations and Models; Accretion and Formation Pro
cesses; Kuiper Belt; and Near-Earth Asteroids. The basic approach to the
treatment of the problems involved is coherently conjoint with experimental
evidence including such that became available only in recent years. Obvious
highlights include the explosion in the rate of discoveries of trans-Neptunian
objects in the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt and the beginning of physical stud
ies of these objects, significantly increasing our understanding of the outer
parts of the Solar System; the advent of comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp
leading to a dramatic improvement in our knowledge of the physics and
chemistry of comets; better understanding of the processes that have af
fected the asteroid population in the main belt and their injection into
inner planet crossing orbits, including identification of new routes from the
main belt to Earth by way of Mars-crossing orbits, with advancing capa
bility to explain the observed number of large NEAs and Mars crossers,
and the dynamical evolution and the collision probabilities for the Aten
and Apollo groups; detection of water in the stratospheres of all the giant
planets which implies infall of material to these planets associated with
cometary encounters; and a great acceleration of the discoveries of NEOs
larger than 1 km diameter due to the increasing capability of automated
wide-field cameras and search software, allowing us to move toward a pos
ture in which any future impact (including near-term threat to the Earth)
can be accurately and cost-efficiently predicted to meet the objectives of
the Spaceguard Survey.
In-depth study of collisional processes opens new horizons in the un-