Effect of rotational disruption on the size-frequency distribution of the main belt asteroid population

Abstract

The size distribution of small asteroids in the Main Belt is assumed to be determined by an equilibrium between the creation of new bodies out of the impact debris of larger asteroids and the destruction of small asteroids by collisions with smaller projectiles. However, for a diameter less than 6 km, we find that YORP-induced rotational disruption significantly contributes to the erosion even exceeding the effects of collisional fragmentation. Including this additional grinding mechanism in a collision evolution model for the asteroid belt, we generate size-frequency distributions from either an accretional or an 'Asteroids were born big' initial size-frequency distribution that are consistent with observations reported in Gladman et al. Rotational disruption is a new mechanism that must be included in all future collisional evolution models of asteroids. © 2014 The Author Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.