Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

P. Santos-Sanz

Publications and source records attributed to P. Santos-Sanz.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Stellar Occultations by Transneptunian objects: from Predictions to Observations and Prospects for the Future

In terms of scientific output, the best way to study solar system bodies is sending spacecraft to make in-situ measurements or to observe at close distance. Probably, the second best means to learn about important physical properties of solar system objects is through stellar occultations. By combining occultation observations from several sites, size and shape can be derived with kilometric accuracy. Also, atmospheric properties can be derived if the body has an atmosphere. Furthermore, the technique can detect rings and even satellites (although rarely) around the main body. Except for the very special cases of Pluto and Charon, stellar occultations by Transneptunian Objects (TNOs) had never been observed until October 2009. This was because the ephemeris of the TNOs have much larger uncertainties than their angular diameters (typically of the order of ~10 milliarcsecond) and also because stellar catalogs were not accurate to the milliarcsecond level. Despite the difficulties, at the time of this writing, 43 occultations by 22 different Trans-Neptunian Objects, and 17 occultations by 5 Centaurs have been detected thanks to the efforts of several teams. Due to the complications of accurately predicting and observing these events, most of the successes have been achieved through wide international collaboration, which is a key issue to succeed in observing stellar occultations by TNOs. Multichord occultations are typically detected at a rate of ~3 per year on average, whereas the majority of the observed occultations are single-chord detections, which means that only one site detects the occultation. In these cases, no tight constraints on size and shape can be derived from those observations alone. Here we review most of the aspects involved in the complex process to successfully observe occultations, and present some of the lessons learned.

astro-ph.EP↗

"TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region XIV. Size/albedo characterization of the Haumea family observed with Herschel and Spitzer

A group of trans-Neptunian objects (TNO) are dynamically related to the dwarf planet 136108 Haumea. Ten of them show strong indications of water ice on their surfaces, are assumed to have resulted from a collision, and are accepted as the only known TNO collisional family. Nineteen other dynamically similar objects lack water ice absorptions and are hypothesized to be dynamical interlopers. We have made observations to determine sizes and geometric albedos of six of the accepted Haumea family members and one dynamical interloper. Ten other dynamical interlopers have been measured by previous works. We compare the individual and statistical properties of the family members and interlopers, examining the size and albedo distributions of both groups. We also examine implications for the total mass of the family and their ejection velocities. We use far-infrared space-based telescopes to observe the target TNOs near their thermal peak and combine these data with optical magnitudes to derive sizes and albedos using radiometric techniques. We determine the power-law slope of ejection velocity as a function of effective diameter. The detected Haumea family members have a diversity of geometric albedos $\sim$ 0.3-0.8, which are higher than geometric albedos of dynamically similar objects without water ice. The median geometric albedo for accepted family members is $p_V=0.48_{-0.18}^{+0.28}$, compared to 0.08$_{-0.05}^{+0.07}$ for the dynamical interlopers. In the size range $D=175-300$ km, the slope of the cumulative size distribution is $q$=3.2$_{-0.4}^{+0.7}$ for accepted family members, steeper than the $q$=2.0$\pm$0.6 slope for the dynamical interlopers with D$< $500 km. The total mass of Haumea's moons and family members is 2.4% of Haumea's mass. The ejection velocities required to emplace them on their current orbits show a dependence on diameter, with a power-law slope of 0.21-0.50.

astro-ph.EP↗

Long-term photometric monitoring of the dwarf planet (136472) Makemake

We studied the rotational properties of the dwarf planet Makemake. The photometric observations were carried out at different telescopes between 2006 and 2017. Most of the measurements were acquired in BVRI broad-band filters of a standard Johnson-Cousins photometric system. We found that Makemake rotates more slowly than was previously reported. A possible lightcurve asymmetry suggests a double-peaked period of P = 22.8266$\pm$0.0001~h. A small peak-to-peak lightcurve amplitude in R-filter A = 0.032$\pm$0.005 mag implies an almost spherical shape or near pole-on orientation. We also measured BVRI colours and the R-filter phase-angle slope and revised the absolute magnitudes. The absolute magnitude of Makemake has remained unchanged since its discovery in 2005. No direct evidence of a newly discovered satellite was found in our photometric data; however, we discuss the possible existence of another larger satellite.

astro-ph.EP↗

Pluto's lower atmosphere and pressure evolution from ground-based stellar occultations, 1988-2016

Context. Pluto's tenuous nitrogen (N2) atmosphere undergoes strong seasonal effects due to high obliquity and orbital eccentricity, and has been recently (July 2015) observed by the New Horizons spacecraft. Goals are (i) construct a well calibrated record of the seasonal evolution of surface pressure on Pluto and (ii) constrain the structure of the lower atmosphere using a central flash observed in 2015. Method: eleven stellar occultations by Pluto observed between 2002 and 2016 are used to retrieve atmospheric profiles (density, pressure, temperature) between $\sim$5 km and $\sim$380 km altitude levels (i.e. pressures from about 10 microbar to 10 nanobar). Results: (i) Pressure has suffered a monotonic increase from 1988 to 2016, that is compared to a seasonal volatile transport model, from which tight constraints on a combination of albedo and emissivity of N2 ice are derived; (ii) A central flash observed on 2015 June 29 is consistent with New Horizons REX profiles, provided that (a) large diurnal temperature variations (not expected by current models) occur over Sputnik Planitia and/or (b) hazes with tangential optical depth of about 0.3 are present at 4-7 km altitude levels and/or (c) the nominal REX density values are overestimated by an implausibly large factor of about 20% and/or (d) higher terrains block part of the flash in the Charon facing hemisphere.

astro-ph.EP↗

Haumea's thermal emission revisited in the light of the occultation results

A recent occultation measurement of the dwarf planet Haumea (Ortiz et al. 2017) revealed an elongated shape with the longest axis comparable to Pluto's mean diameter. The chords also indicate a ring around Haumea's equatorial plane, where its largest moon, Hi'iaka, is also located. The Haumea occultation size estimate (equivalent diameter 1595 km) is larger than previous radiometric solutions (in the range between 1150 and 1350 km), which lowers the object's density to about 1.8 gcm-3, a value closer to the densities of other large TNOs. We present unpublished and also reprocessed Herschel and Spitzer MIR and FIR measurements. We compare 100 and 160um thermal lightcurve amplitudes - originating from Haumea itself - with models of the total measured system fluxes (ring, satellite, Haumea) from 24-350um. The combination with results derived from the occultation measurements show that Haumea's crystalline water ice surface must have a thermal inertia of ~5 SIu. We also have indications that the satellites (at least Hi'iaka) must have high geometric albedos >=0.5, otherwise the derived thermal amplitude would be inconsistent with the total measured system fluxes at 24, 70, 100, 160, 250, and 350um. The high albedos imply sizes of about 300 and 150 km for Hi'iaka and Namaka, respectively, indicating unexpectedly high densities >1.0 gcm-3 for TNOs this small, and the assumed collisional formation from Haumea's icy crust. We also estimated the thermal emission of the ring for the time period 1980-2030, showing that the contribution during the Spitzer and Herschel epochs was small, but not negligible. Due to the progressive opening of the ring plane, the ring emission will be increasing in the next decade when JWST is operational. In the MIRI 25.5um band it will also be possible to obtain a very high-quality thermal lightcurve to test the derived Haumea properties.

astro-ph.EP↗

Ring dynamics around non-axisymmetric bodies with application to Chariklo and Haumea

Dense and narrow rings have been discovered recently around the small Centaur object Chariklo and the dwarf planet Haumea, while being suspected around the Centaur Chiron. They are the first rings observed in the Solar System elsewhere than around giant planets. Contrarily to the latters, gravitational fields of small bodies may exhibit large non-axisymmetric terms that create strong resonances between the spin of the object and the mean motion of rings particles. Here we show that modest topographic features or elongations of Chariklo and Haumea explain why their rings are relatively far away from the central body, when scaled to those of the giant planets. Lindblad-type resonances actually clear on decadal time-scales an initial collisional disk that straddles the corotation resonance (where the particles mean motion matches the spin rate of the body). The disk material inside the corotation radius migrates onto the body, while the material outside the corotation radius is pushed outside the 1/2 resonance, where the particles complete one revolution while the body completes two rotations. Consequently, the existence of rings around non-axisymmetric bodies requires that the 1/2 resonance resides inside the Roche limit of the body, favoring fast rotators for being surrounded by rings.

astro-ph.EP↗

Absolute colors and phase coefficients of trans-Neptunian objects: HV-HR and relative phase coefficients

The trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are small Solar System bodies at large distances from the Sun. As such, their physical properties are difficult to measure. Accurate determination of their physical parameters is essential to model and theorize the actual composition and distribution of the population, and to improve our understanding of the formation and evolution of the Solar System. The objective of this work is to construct phase curves in two filters, $V$ and $R$, of a large TNO sample obtaining absolute magnitudes ($H$) and phase coefficients ($β$), and study possible relations between them and other physical parameters (orbital elements, sizes, and albedos). We used our own data, together with data from the literature, to create the phase curves assuming an overall linear trend. We obtained new magnitudes for 35 TNOs, 27 in the V filter and 35 in the R filter. These magnitudes, together with data from the literature, allowed us to obtain absolutes magnitudes, 114 in the V filter and 113 in the R filter, of which 106 have both. From the search for correlations we found a strong anticorrelation between $H_V-H_R$ and $Δβ=β_V-β_R$, which is probably more related to surface structure than to composition or size of the objects.

astro-ph.EP↗

Small Bodies Near and Far (SBNAF): a benchmark study on physical and thermal properties of small bodies in the Solar System

The combination of visible and thermal data from the ground and astrophysics space missions is key to improving the scientific understanding of near-Earth, main-belt, trojans, centaurs, and trans-Neptunian objects. To get full information on a small sample of selected bodies we combine different methods and techniques: lightcurve inversion, stellar occultations, thermophysical modeling, radiometric methods, radar ranging and adaptive optics imaging. The SBNAF project will derive size, spin and shape, thermal inertia, surface roughness, and in some cases bulk densities and even internal structure and composition, for objects out to the most distant regions in the Solar System. The applications to objects with ground-truth information allows us to advance the techniques beyond the current state-of-the-art and to assess the limitations of each method. We present results from our project's first phase: the analysis of combined Herschel-KeplerK2 data and Herschel-occultation data for TNOs; synergy studies on large MBAs from combined high-quality visual and thermal data; establishment of well-known asteroids as celestial calibrators for far-infrared, sub-millimetre, and millimetre projects; first results on near-Earth asteroids properties from combined lightcurve, radar and thermal measurements, as well as the Hayabusa-2 mission target characterisation. We also introduce public web-services and tools for studies of small bodies in general.

astro-ph.EP↗

The thermal emission of Centaurs and Trans-Neptunian objects at millimeter wavelengths from ALMA observations

The sensitivity of ALMA makes it possible to detect thermal mm/submm emission from small/distant Solar System bodies at the sub-mJy level. Measured fluxes are primarily sensitive to the objects' diameters, but deriving precise sizes is somewhat hampered by the uncertain effective emissivity at these wavelengths. Following Brown and Butler (2017) who presented ALMA data for four binary TNOs, we report ALMA 1.29 mm measurements of four Centaurs (2002 GZ$_{32}$, Bienor, Chiron, Chariklo) and two TNOs (Huya and Makemake), sampling a range of size, albedo and composition. These thermal fluxes are combined with mid/far-infrared fluxes to derive the relative emissivity at radio (mm/submm) wavelengths, using NEATM and thermophysical models. We reassess earlier thermal measurements of these and other objects -- including Pluto/Charon and Varuna -- exploring effects due to non-spherical shape and varying apparent pole orientation, and show that those can be key for reconciling previous diameter determinations and correctly estimating the spectral emissivities. We also evaluate the possible contribution to thermal fluxes of established (Chariklo) or claimed (Chiron) ring systems. As a general conclusion, all the objects, except Makemake, have radio emissivities significantly lower than unity. Although the emissivity values show diversity, we do not find any significant trend with physical parameters such as diameter, composition, beaming factor, albedo, or color, but we suggest that the emissivity could be correlated with grain size. The mean relative radio emissivity is found to be 0.70$\pm$0.13, a value that we recommend for the analysis of further mm/submm data.

astro-ph.EP↗

The structure of Chariklo's rings from stellar occultations

Two narrow and dense rings (called C1R and C2R) were discovered around the Centaur object (10199) Chariklo during a stellar occultation observed on 2013 June 3. Following this discovery, we planned observations of several occultations by Chariklo's system in order to better characterize the physical properties of the ring and main body. Here, we use 12 successful occulations by Chariklo observed between 2014 and 2016. They provide ring profiles (physical width, opacity, edge structure) and constraints on the radii and pole position. Our new observations are currently consistent with the circular ring solution and pole position, to within the $\pm 3.3$ km formal uncertainty for the ring radii derived by Braga-Ribas et al. The six resolved C1R profiles reveal significant width variations from $\sim 5$ to 7.5 km. The width of the fainter ring C2R is less constrained, and may vary between 0.1 and 1 km. The inner and outer edges of C1R are consistent with infinitely sharp boundaries, with typical upper limits of one kilometer for the transition zone between the ring and empty space. No constraint on the sharpness of C2R's edges is available. A 1$σ$ upper limit of $\sim 20$ m is derived for the equivalent width of narrow (physical width <4 km) rings up to distances of 12,000 km, counted in the ring plane.

astro-ph.EP↗

The 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko observation campaign in support of the Rosetta mission

We present a summary of the campaign of remote observations that supported the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission. Telescopes across the globe (and in space) followed comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from before Rosetta's arrival until nearly the end of mission in September 2016. These provided essential data for mission planning, large-scale context information for the coma and tails beyond the spacecraft, and a way to directly compare 67P with other comets. The observations revealed 67P to be a relatively `well behaved' comet, typical of Jupiter family comets and with activity patterns that repeat from orbit-to-orbit. Comparison between this large collection of telescopic observations and the in situ results from Rosetta will allow us to better understand comet coma chemistry and structure. This work is just beginning as the mission ends -- in this paper we present a summary of the ground-based observations and early results, and point to many questions that will be addressed in future studies.

astro-ph.EP↗

Study of the plutino object (208996) 2003 AZ84 from stellar occultations: size, shape and topographic features

We present results derived from four stellar occultations by the plutino object (208996) 2003~AZ$_{84}$, detected at January 8, 2011 (single-chord event), February 3, 2012 (multi-chord), December 2, 2013 (single-chord) and November 15, 2014 (multi-chord). Our observations rule out an oblate spheroid solution for 2003~AZ$_{84}$'s shape. Instead, assuming hydrostatic equilibrium, we find that a Jacobi triaxial solution with semi axes $(470 \pm 20) \times (383 \pm 10) \times (245 \pm 8)$~km % axis ratios $b/a= 0.82 \pm 0.05$ and $c/a= 0.52 \pm 0.02$, can better account for all our occultation observations. Combining these dimensions with the rotation period of the body (6.75~h) and the amplitude of its rotation light curve, we derive a density $ρ=0.87 \pm 0.01$~g~cm$^{-3}$ a geometric albedo $p_V= 0.097 \pm 0.009$. A grazing chord observed during the 2014 occultation reveals a topographic feature along 2003~AZ$_{84}$'s limb, that can be interpreted as an abrupt chasm of width $\sim 23$~km and depth $> 8$~km or a smooth depression of width $\sim 80$~km and depth $\sim 13$~km (or an intermediate feature between those two extremes).

astro-ph.EP↗

TNOs are Cool: a survey of the Transneptunian Region XII. Thermal light curves of Haumea, 2003 VS2 and 2003 AZ84 with Herschel Space Observatory-PACS

Time series observations of the dwarf planet Haumea and the Plutinos 2003VS2 and 2003AZ84 with Herschel/PACS are presented in this work. Thermal emission of these trans-Neptunian objects were acquired as part of the TNOs are Cool Herschel Space Observatory key programme. We search for the thermal light curves at 100 and 160um of Haumea and 2003AZ84, and at 70 and 160um for 2003VS2 by means of photometric analysis of the PACS data. The goal of this work is to use these thermal light curves to obtain physical and thermophysical properties of these icy Solar System bodies. Haumea's thermal light curve is clearly detected at 100 and 160um. The effect of the reported dark spot is apparent at 100um. Different thermophysical models were applied to these light curves, varying the thermophysical properties of the surface within and outside the spot. Although no model gives a perfect fit to the thermal observations, results imply an extremely low thermal inertia (< 0.5 MKS) and a high phase integral (> 0.73) for Haumea's surface. We note that the dark spot region appears to be only weakly different from the rest of the object, with modest changes in thermal inertia and/or phase integral. The thermal light curve of 2003VS2 is not firmly detected at 70 and at 160um but a thermal inertia of 2+/-0.5 MKS can be derived from these data. The thermal light curve of 2003AZ84 is not firmly detected at 100um. We apply a thermophysical model to the mean thermal fluxes and to all the Herschel/PACS and Spitzer/MIPS thermal data of 2003AZ84, obtaining a close to pole-on orientation as the most likely for this TNO. For the three TNOs, the thermal inertias derived from light curve analyses or from the thermophysical analysis of the mean thermal fluxes confirm the generally small or very small surface thermal inertias of the TNO population, which is consistent with a statistical mean value of 2.5+/-0.5 MKS.

astro-ph.EP↗

Physical properties of centaur (54598) Bienor from photometry

We present time series photometry of Bienor in four observation campaigns from 2013 to 2016 and compare them with previous observations in the literature dating back to 2000. The results show a remarkable decline in the amplitude of the rotational light curve and in the absolute magnitude. This suggests that the angle between the rotation axis and the line of sight has changed noticeably during the last 16 years as Bienor orbits the Sun. From the light curve amplitude data we are able to determine the orientation of the rotation axis of Bienor ($β_p=50\pm3^{\circ}$, $λ_p=35\pm8^{\circ}$). We are also able to constrain the $b/a$ axial ratio of a triaxial Jacobi ellipsoidal body (with semi-axis $a>b>c$). The best fit is for $b/a=0.45\pm0.05$, which corresponds to a density value of $594^{+47}_{-35}$ kg$\,$m$^{-3}$ under the usual assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium and given that Bienor's rotational period is 9.17 h. However, the absolute magnitude of Bienor at several epochs is not well reproduced. We tested several explanations such as relaxing the hydrostatic equilibrium constraint, a large North-South asymmetry in the surface albedo of Bienor or even a ring system. When a ring system of similar characteristics to those of Chariklo and Chiron is included, we can fit both the light curve amplitude and absolute magnitude. In this case the derived axial ratio is modified to $b/a=0.37\pm0.10$. The implied density is $678^{+209}_{-100}$ kg$\,$m$^{-3}$. Also the existence of a ring is consistent with the spectroscopic detection of water ice on Bienor. Nevertheless the other explanations cannot be discarded.

astro-ph.EP↗

Large Halloween Asteroid at Lunar Distance

The near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 2015 TB145 had a very close encounter with Earth at 1.3 lunar distances on October 31, 2015. We obtained 3-band mid-infrared observations with the ESO VLT-VISIR instrument and visual lightcurves during the close-encounter phase. The NEA has a (most likely) rotation period of 2.939 +/- 0.005 hours and the visual lightcurve shows a peak-to-peak amplitude of approximately 0.12+/-0.02 mag. We estimate a V-R colour of 0.56+/-0.05 mag from MPC database entries. Applying different phase relations to the available R-/V-band observations produced H_R = 18.6 mag (standard H-G calculations) or H_R = 19.2 mag & H_V = 19.8 mag (via the H-G12 procedure), with large uncertainties of approximately 1 mag. We performed a detailed thermophysical model analysis by using spherical and ellipsoidal shape models. The thermal properties are best explained by an equator-on (+/- ~30 deg) viewing geometry during our measurements with a thermal inertia in the range 250-700 Jm-2s-0.5K-1 (retrograde rotation) or above 500 Jm-2s-0.5K-1 (prograde rotation). We find that the NEA has a minimum size of 625 m, a maximum size of just below 700 m, and a slightly elongated shape with a/b ~1.1. The best match to all thermal measurements is found for: (i) Thermal inertia of 900 Jm-2s-0.5K-1; D_eff = 644 m, p_V = 5.5% (prograde rotation); regolith grain sizes of ~50-100 mm; (ii) thermal inertia of 400 Jm-2s-0.5K-1; D_eff = 667 m, p_V = 5.1% (retrograde rotation); regolith grain sizes of ~10-20 mm. A near-Earth asteroid model (NEATM) confirms an object size well above 600 m, significantly larger than early estimates based on radar measurements. We give recommendations for improved observing strategies for similar events in the future.

astro-ph.EP↗

The long-wavelength thermal emission of the Pluto-Charon system from Herschel observations. Evidence for emissivity effects

Thermal observations of the Pluto-Charon system acquired by the Herschel Space Observatory in February 2012 are presented. They consist of photometric measurements with the PACS and SPIRE instruments (nine visits to the Pluto system each), covering six wavelengths from 70 to 500 $μ$m altogether. The thermal light curve of Pluto-Charon is observed in all filters, albeit more marginally at 160 and especially 500 $μ$m. Putting these data into the context of older ISO, Spitzer and ground-based observations indicates that the brightness temperature (T$_B$) of the system (rescaled to a common heliocentric distance) drastically decreases with increasing wavelength, from $\sim$53 K at 20 $μ$m to $\sim$35 K at 500 $μ$m, and perhaps ever less at longer wavelengths. Considering a variety of diurnal and/or seasonal thermophysical models, we show that T$_B$ values of 35 K are lower than any expected temperature for the dayside surface or subsurface of Pluto and Charon, implying a low surface emissivity. Based on multiterrain modeling, we infer a spectral emissivity that decreases steadily from 1 at 20-25 $μ$m to $\sim$0.7 at 500~$μ$m. This kind of behavior is usually not observed in asteroids (when proper allowance is made for subsurface sounding), but is found in several icy surfaces of the solar system. We tentatively identify that a combination of a strong dielectric constant and a considerable surface material transparency (typical penetration depth $\sim$1 cm) is responsible for the effect. Our results have implications for the interpretation of the temperature measurements by REX/New Horizons at 4.2 cm wavelength.

astro-ph.EP↗

Absolute magnitudes and phase coefficients of trans-Neptunian objects

Context: Accurate measurements of diameters of trans-Neptunian objects are extremely complicated to obtain. Thermal modeling can provide good results, but accurate absolute magnitudes are needed to constrain the thermal models and derive diameters and geometric albedos. The absolute magnitude, Hv, is defined as the magnitude of the object reduced to unit helio- and geocentric distances and a zero solar phase angle and is determined using phase curves. Phase coefficients can also be obtained from phase curves. These are related to surface properties, yet not many are known. Aims: Our objective is to measure accurate V band absolute magnitudes and phase coefficients for a sample of trans-Neptunian objects, many of which have been observed, and modeled, within the 'TNOs are cool' program, one of Herschel Space Observatory key projects. Methods: We observed 56 objects using the V and R filters. These data, along with those available in the literature, were used to obtain phase curves and measure V band absolute magnitudes and phase coefficients by assuming a linear trend of the phase curves and considering magnitude variability due to rotational light-curve. Results: We obtained 237 new magnitudes for the 56 objects, six of them with no reported previous measurements. Including the data from the literature we report a total of 110 absolute magnitudes with their respective phase coefficients. The average value of Hv is 6.39, bracketed by a minimum of 14.60 and a maximum of -1.12. In the case of the phase coefficients we report 0.10 mag per degree as the median value and a very large dispersion, ranging from -0.88 up tp 1.35 mag per degree.

astro-ph.EP↗

JWST observations of stellar occultations by solar system bodies and rings

In this paper we investigate the opportunities provided by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for significant scientific advances in the study of solar system bodies and rings using stellar occultations. The strengths and weaknesses of the stellar occultation technique are evaluated in light of JWST's unique capabilities. We identify several possible JWST occultation events by minor bodies and rings, and evaluate their potential scientific value. These predictions depend critically on accurate a priori knowledge of the orbit of JWST near the Sun-Earth Lagrange-point 2 (L2). We also explore the possibility of serendipitous stellar occultations by very small minor bodies as a by-product of other JWST observing programs. Finally, to optimize the potential scientific return of stellar occultation observations, we identify several characteristics of JWST's orbit and instrumentation that should be taken into account during JWST's development.

astro-ph.EP↗