Synthetic population of interstellar objects in the Solar System

Marceta, D.

doi:10.1016/j.ascom.2023.100690

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The forthcoming Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (Jones et al 2009;Ivezić et al 2019) will effectively detect such transient objects (Solontoi & Ivezić 2011;Vereš & Chesley 2017a, 2017bJones et al 2018). The survey should detect ∼1 'Oumuamua-like interstellar object every year (Moro-Martín et al 2009;Cook et al 2016;Engelhardt et al 2017;Trilling et al 2017;Seligman & Laughlin 2018;Hoover et al 2022;Marčeta 2023). In addition, the forthcoming NEO Surveyor (Mainzer et al 2015) may also detect interstellar objects, and could offer information about outgassing sources via its infrared capabilities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulations of Tidal Deformation and Resulting Light Curves of Small Bodies: Material Constraints of 99942 Apophis and 1I/‘Oumuamua

et al. 2023

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In this paper, we present an open-source software (Simulator of Asteroid Malformation Under Stress, SAMUS) that simulates constant-density, constant-viscosity liquid bodies subject to tidal forces for a range of assumed viscosities and sizes. This software solves the Navier–Stokes equations on a finite-element mesh, incorporating the centrifugal, Coriolis, self-gravitational, and tidal forces. The primary functionality is to simulate the deformation of minor bodies under the influence of tidal forces. It may therefore be used to constrain the composition and physical structure of bodies experiencing significant tidal forces, such as 99942 Apophis and 1I/‘Oumuamua. We demonstrate that SAMUS will be useful to constrain the material properties of Apophis during its near-Earth flyby in 2029. Depending on the material properties, Apophis may experience an area change of up to 0.5%, with similar effects on the photometric brightness. We also apply SAMUS to constrain the material dynamic viscosity of 1I/‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object discovered traversing the inner solar system. ‘Oumuamua experienced a close approach to the Sun at perihelion (q ≃ 0.25 au) during which there were significant tidal forces that may have caused deformation of the body. This deformation could have lead to observable changes in the photometric light curve based on the material properties. The application of SAMUS to produce synthetic observations which incorporate tidal deformation effects demonstrates that no deformation—an infinite dynamic viscosity—best reproduces the photometric data. While these results indicate that ‘Oumuamua did not experience significant tidal deformation, a sophisticated model incorporating nonprincipal axis rotation is necessary to conclusively analyze both ‘Oumuamua and Apophis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulations of Tidal Deformation and Resulting Light Curves of Small Bodies: Material Constraints of 99942 Apophis and 1I/‘Oumuamua

et al. 2023

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“…In this paper, we generated a synthetic population of ISOs following the methodology developed in Marčeta (2023), assuming different kinematics and a range of SFDs. We then implemented the OIF algorithm to generate realistic LSST survey conditions and evaluated the ISOs that would be detectable with the LSST.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This method can incorporate any assumed kinematic distribution of ISOs. In this paper, we simulate ISOs assuming that they exhibit the same kinematics as M-, G-, and O/B-star populations (see the discussion in Seligman & Laughlin 2018;Hoover et al 2022;Marčeta 2023).…”

Section: Overview Of Probabilistic Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most straightforward method to calculate the distribution of expected trajectories is via a Monte Carlo integration, defined as the "dynamical method" (Marčeta 2023) and implemented in Cook et al (2016), Engelhardt et al (2017), Laughlin (2018), andHoover et al (2022). Alternatively, the analytic "probabilistic method" is orders of magnitude more computationally efficient (Marčeta 2023). In this paper, we implement the probabilistic method in conjunction with the objectsInField (OIF; Cornwall et al 2020) software to estimate the population of ISOs that will be discovered with the LSST.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synthetic Detections of Interstellar Objects with the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time

Marčeta,

Seligman

2023

Planet. Sci. J.

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The discovery of two interstellar objects passing through the solar system, 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, implies that a galactic population exists with a spatial number density of order ∼0.1 au−3. The forthcoming Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) has been predicted to detect more asteroidal interstellar objects like 1I/‘Oumuamua. We apply recently developed methods to simulate a suite of galactic populations of interstellar objects with a range of assumed kinematics, albedos, and size–frequency distributions (SFDs). We incorporate these populations into the objectsInField algorithm, which simulates detections of moving objects by an arbitrary survey. We find that the LSST should detect between ∼0 and 70 asteroidal interstellar objects every year (assuming the implied number density), with sensitive dependence on the SFD slope and characteristic albedo of the host population. The apparent rate of motion on the sky—along with the associated trailing loss—appears to be the largest barrier to detecting interstellar objects. Specifically, a relatively large number of synthetic objects would be detectable by the LSST if not for their rapid sky motion (>0.°5 day−1). Therefore, algorithms that could successfully link and detect rapidly moving objects would significantly increase the number of interstellar object discoveries with the LSST (and in general). The mean diameter of detectable, inactive interstellar objects ranges from ∼50 to 600 m and depends sensitively on the SFD slope and albedo.

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