arXiv subjects

S. B. Porter

Publications and source records attributed to S. B. Porter.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Orbits of very distant asteroid satellites

The very wide binary asteroid (VWBA) population is a small subset of the population of known binary and multiple asteroids made of systems with very widely orbiting satellites and long orbital periods, on the order of tens to hundreds of days. The origin of these systems is debatable, and most members of this population are poorly characterized. We have compiled all available high-angular resolution imaging archival data of VWBA systems from large ground- and space-based telescopes. We measure the astrometric positions of the satellite relative to the primary and analyze the dynamics of the satellites using the Genoid genetic algorithm. Additionally, we use a NEATM thermal model to estimate the diameters of two systems, and we model the orbit of Litva's inner satellite using photometric lightcurve observations. We determine the effective diameters of binary systems Christophedumas and Alconrad to be 4.7 + 0.4km and 5.2 + 0.3km respectively. We determine new orbital solutions for five systems, Huenna, Litva, (3548) Eurybates, Pauling, and Alconrad. We find a significantly eccentric best-fit orbital solution for the outer satellite of Litva, a moderately eccentric solution for Alconrad, and a nearly circular solution for Pauling. We also confirm previously reported orbital solutions for (379) Huenna and Eurybates. It is unlikely that BYORP expansion could be solely responsible for the formation of VWBAs. It is possible that the satellites of these systems were formed through YORP spin-up and then later scattered onto very wide orbits. Additionally, we find that some members of the population are unlikely to have formed satellites through YORP spin-up, and a collisional formation history is favored. In particular, this applies to VWBAs within large dynamical families, or large VWBA systems such as Huenna and NASA's Lucy mission target Eurybates.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2022

High Resolution Search for KBO Binaries from New Horizons

Using the New Horizons LORRI camera, we searched for satellites near five Kuiper belt objects (KBOs): four cold classicals (CCs: 2011 JY31, 2014 OS393, 2014 PN70, 2011 HZ102) and one scattered disk object (SD: 2011 HK103). These objects were observed at distances of 0.092-0.290 au from the New Horizons spacecraft, achieving spatial resolutions of 136-430 km (resolution is ~2 camera pixels), much higher than possible from any other facilities. Here we report that CC 2011 JY31 is a binary system with roughly equal brightness components, CC 2014 OS393 is likely an equal brightness binary system, while the three other KBOs did not show any evidence of binarity. The 2011 JY31 binary has a semi-major axis of 198.6 +/- 2.9 km, an orbital inclination of 61.34 +/- 1.34 deg, and an orbital period of 1.940 +/- 0.002 d. The 2014 OS393 binary objects have an apparent separation of ~150 km, making 2011 JY31 and 2014 OS393 the tightest KBO binary systems ever resolved. Both 2011 HK103 and 2011 HZ102 were detected with SNR~10, and our observations rule out equal brightness binaries with separations larger than ~430 km and ~260 km, respectively. The spatial resolution for 2014 PN70 was ~200 km, but this object had SNR~2.5-3, which limited our ability to probe its binarity. The binary frequency for the CC binaries probed in our small survey (67%, not including 2014 PN70) is consistent with the high binary frequency suggested by larger surveys of CCs (Fraser et al. 2017, Noll et al. 2020) and recent planetesimal formation models (Nesvorny et al. 2021), but we extend the results to smaller orbit semi-major axes and smaller objects than previously possible.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2020

Detection of a Satellite of the Trojan Asteroid (3548) Eurybates -- A Lucy Mission Target

We describe the discovery of a satellite of the Trojan asteroid (3548) Eurybates in images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope. The satellite was detected on three separate epochs, two in September 2018 and one in January 2020. The satellite has a brightness in all three epochs consistent with an effective diameter of d2 =1.2+/-0.4 km. The projected separation from Eurybates was s~1700-2300 km and varied in position, consistent with a large range of possible orbits. Eurybates is a target of the Lucy Discovery mission and the early detection of a satellite provides an opportunity for a significant expansion of the scientific return from this encounter.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2020

The Geology and Geophysics of Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth

The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, are primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past one of these objects, the 36 km long contact binary (486958) Arrokoth (2014 MU69), in January 2019. Images from the flyby show that Arrokoth has no detectable rings, and no satellites (larger than 180 meters diameter) within a radius of 8000 km, and has a lightly-cratered smooth surface with complex geological features, unlike those on previously visited Solar System bodies. The density of impact craters indicates the surface dates from the formation of the Solar System. The two lobes of the contact binary have closely aligned poles and equators, constraining their accretion mechanism.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2020

The solar nebula origin of (486958) Arrokoth, a primordial contact binary in the Kuiper belt

The New Horizons spacecraft's encounter with the cold classical Kuiper belt object (486958) Arrokoth (formerly 2014 MU69) revealed a contact-binary planetesimal. We investigate how it formed, finding it is the product of a gentle, low-speed merger in the early Solar System. Its two lenticular lobes suggest low-velocity accumulation of numerous smaller planetesimals within a gravitationally collapsing, solid particle cloud. The geometric alignment of the lobes indicates the lobes were a co-orbiting binary that experienced angular momentum loss and subsequent merger, possibly due to dynamical friction and collisions within the cloud or later gas drag. Arrokoth's contact-binary shape was preserved by the benign dynamical and collisional environment of the cold classical Kuiper belt, and so informs the accretion processes that operated in the early Solar System.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2020

Color, Composition, and Thermal Environment of Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth

The outer Solar System object (486958) Arrokoth (provisional designation 2014 MU$_{69}$) has been largely undisturbed since its formation. We study its surface composition using data collected by the New Horizons spacecraft. Methanol ice is present along with organic material, which may have formed through radiation of simple molecules. Water ice was not detected. This composition indicates hydrogenation of carbon monoxide-rich ice and/ or energetic processing of methane condensed on water ice grains in the cold, outer edge of the early Solar System. There are only small regional variations in color and spectra across the surface, suggesting Arrokoth formed from a homogeneous or well-mixed reservoir of solids. Microwave thermal emission from the winter night side is consistent with a mean brightness temperature of 29$\pm$5 K.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2019

Magnetic Dead Layers in La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ Revisited

The magnetic dead layers in films a few nanometers thick are investigated for La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ on (001)-oriented SrTiO$_3$ (STO), LaAlO$_3$ (LAO) and (LaAlO$_3$)$_{0.3}$(Sr$_2$TaAlO$_6$)$_{0.7}$ (LSAT) substrates. An anomalous moment found to persist above the Curie temperature of the La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ films is not attributed to the films, but to oxygen vacancies at or near the surface of the substrate. The contribution to the moment from the substrate is as high as 20 $μ$B/nm$^2$ in the case of STO or LSAT. The effect is increased by adding an STO cap layer. Taking this d-zero magnetism into account, extrapolated magnetic dead layer thicknesses of 0.8 nm, 1.5 nm and 3.0 nm are found for the manganite films grown on LSAT, STO and LAO substrates, respectively. An STO cap layer eliminates the LSMO dead layer.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Formation of Charon's Red Poles From Seasonally Cold-Trapped Volatiles

A unique feature of Pluto's large satellite Charon is its dark red northern polar cap. Similar colours on Pluto's surface have been attributed to organic macromolecules produced by energetic radiation processing of hydrocarbons. The polar location of this material on Charon implicates the temperature extremes that result from Charon's high obliquity and long seasons. The escape of Pluto's atmosphere provides a potential feed stock for production of complex chemistry. Gas from Pluto that is transiently cold-trapped and processed at Charon's winter pole was proposed as an explanation on the basis of an image of Charon's northern hemisphere, but not modelled quantitatively. Here we report images of the southern hemisphere illuminated by Pluto-shine and also images taken during the approach phase showing the northern polar cap over a range of longitudes. We model the surface thermal environment on Charon, the supply and temporary cold-trapping of material escaping from Pluto, and, while cold-trapped, its photolytic processing into more complex and less volatile molecules. The model results are consistent with the proposed mechanism producing the observed colour pattern on Charon.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2017

Magnetization and Anisotropy of Cobalt Ferrite Thin Films

The magnetization of thin films of cobalt ferrite frequently falls far below the bulk value of 455 kAm-1, which corresponds to an inverse cation distribution in the spinel structure with a significant orbital moment of about 0.6 muB that is associated with the octahedrally-coordinated Co2+ ions. The orbital moment is responsible for the magnetostriction and magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and its sensitivity to imposed strain. We have systematically investigated the structure and magnetism of films produced by pulsed-laser deposition on different substrates (TiO2, MgO, MgAl2O4, SrTiO3, LSAT, LaAlO3) and as a function of temperature (500-700 C) and oxygen pressure (10-4 - 10 Pa). Magnetization at room-temperature ranges from 60 to 440 kAm-1, and uniaxial substrate-induced anisotropy ranges from +220 kJm-3 for films on deposited on MgO (100) to -2100 kJm-3 for films deposited on MgAl2O4 (100), where the room-temperature anisotropy field reaches 14 T. No rearrangement of high-spin Fe3+ and Co2+ cations on tetrahedral and octahedral sites can reduce the magnetization below the bulk value, but a switch from Fe3+ and Co2+ to Fe2+ and low-spin Co3+ on octahedral sites will reduce the low-temperature magnetization to 120 kAm-1, and a consequent reduction of Curie temperature can bring the room-temperature value to near zero. Possible reasons for the appearance of low-spin cobalt in the thin films are discussed. Keywords; Cobalt ferrite, thin films, pulsed-laser deposition, low-spin Co3+, strain engineering of magnetization.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

The Geology of Pluto and Charon Through the Eyes of New Horizons

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has revealed the complex geology of Pluto and Charon. Pluto's encounter hemisphere shows ongoing surface geological activity centered on a vast basin containing a thick layer of volatile ices that appears to be involved in convection and advection, with a crater retention age no greater than $\approx$10 Ma. Surrounding terrains show active glacial flow, apparent transport and rotation of large buoyant water-ice crustal blocks, and pitting, likely by sublimation erosion and/or collapse. More enigmatic features include tall mounds with central depressions that are conceivably cryovolcanic, and ridges with complex bladed textures. Pluto also has ancient cratered terrains up to ~4 Ga old that are extensionally fractured and extensively mantled and perhaps eroded by glacial or other processes. Charon does not appear to be currently active, but experienced major extensional tectonism and resurfacing (probably cryovolcanic) nearly 4 billion years ago. Impact crater populations on Pluto and Charon are not consistent with the steepest proposed impactor size-frequency distributions proposed for the Kuiper belt.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2016

The Small Satellites of Pluto as Observed by New Horizons

The New Horizons mission has provided resolved measurements of Pluto's moons Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. All four are small, with equivalent spherical diameters of $\approx$40 km for Nix and Hydra and ~10 km for Styx and Kerberos. They are also highly elongated, with maximum to minimum axis ratios of $\approx$2. All four moons have high albedos ( $\approx$50-90 %) suggestive of a water-ice surface composition. Crater densities on Nix and Hydra imply surface ages $\gtrsim$ 4 Ga. The small moons rotate much faster than synchronous, with rotational poles clustered nearly orthogonal to the common pole directions of Pluto and Charon. These results reinforce the hypothesis that the small moons formed in the aftermath of a collision that produced the Pluto-Charon binary.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2016

Inflight Radiometric Calibration of New Horizons' Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC)

We discuss two semi-independent calibration techniques used to determine the in-flight radiometric calibration for the New Horizons' Multi-spectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The first calibration technique compares the observed stellar flux to modeled values. The difference between the two provides a calibration factor that allows the observed flux to be adjusted to the expected levels for all observations, for each detector. The second calibration technique is a channel-wise relative radiometric calibration for MVIC's blue, near-infrared and methane color channels using observations of Charon and scaling from the red channel stellar calibration. Both calibration techniques produce very similar results (better than 7% agreement), providing strong validation for the techniques used. Since the stellar calibration can be performed without a color target in the field of view and covers all of MVIC's detectors, this calibration was used to provide the radiometric keywords delivered by the New Horizons project to the Planetary Data System (PDS). These keywords allow each observation to be converted from counts to physical units; a description of how these keywords were generated is included. Finally, mitigation techniques adopted for the gain drift observed in the near-infrared detector and one of the panchromatic framing cameras is also discussed.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

The Mutual Orbit, Mass, and Density of the Large Transneptunian Binary System Varda and Ilmarë

From observations by the Hubble Space Telescope, Keck II Telescope, and Gemini North Telescope, we have determined the mutual orbit of the large transneptunian object (174567) Varda and its satellite Ilmarë. These two objects orbit one another in a highly inclined, circular or near-circular orbit with a period of 5.75 days and a semimajor axis of 4810 km. This orbit reveals the system mass to be (2.664 +/- 0.064) x 10^20 kg, slightly greater than the mass of the second most massive main-belt asteroid (4) Vesta. The dynamical mass can in turn be combined with estimates of the surface area of the system from Herschel Space Telescope thermal observations to estimate a bulk density of 1.24 +0.50 -0.35 g cm^-3. Varda and Ilmarë both have colors similar to the combined colors of the system, B-V = 0.886 +/- 0.025 and V-I = 1.156 +/- 0.029.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2014

The Orbit of Transneptunian Binary Manwë and Thorondor and their Upcoming Mutual Events

A new Hubble Space Telescope observation of the 7:4 resonant transneptunian binary system (385446) Manwë has shown that, of two previously reported solutions for the orbit of its satellite Thorondor, the prograde one is correct. The orbit has a period of 110.18 $\pm$ 0.02 days, semimajor axis of 6670 $\pm$ 40 km, and an eccentricity of 0.563 $\pm$ 0.007. It will be viewable edge-on from the inner solar system during 2015-2017, presenting opportunities to observe mutual occultation and eclipse events. However, the number of observable events will be small, owing to the long orbital period and expected small sizes of the bodies relative to their separation. This paper presents predictions for events observable from Earth-based telescopes and discusses the associated uncertainties and challenges.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2012

Mutual Events in the Cold Classical Transneptunian Binary System Sila and Nunam

Hubble Space Telescope observations between 2001 and 2010 resolved the binary components of the Cold Classical transneptunian object (79360) Sila-Nunam (provisionally designated 1997 CS29). From these observations we have determined the circular, retrograde mutual orbit of Nunam relative to Sila with a period of 12.50995 \pm 0.00036 days and a semimajor axis of 2777 \pm 19 km. A multi-year season of mutual events, in which the two near-equal brightness bodies alternate in passing in front of one another as seen from Earth, is in progress right now, and on 2011 Feb. 1 UT, one such event was observed from two different telescopes. The mutual event season offers a rich opportunity to learn much more about this barely-resolvable binary system, potentially including component sizes, colors, shapes, and albedo patterns. The low eccentricity of the orbit and a photometric lightcurve that appears to coincide with the orbital period are consistent with a system that is tidally locked and synchronized, like the Pluto-Charon system. The orbital period and semimajor axis imply a system mass of (10.84 \pm 0.22) \times 10^18 kg, which can be combined with a size estimate based on Spitzer and Herschel thermal infrared observations to infer an average bulk density of 0.72 +0.37 -0.23 g cm^-3, comparable to the very low bulk densities estimated for small transneptunian binaries of other dynamical classes.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2011

Five New and Three Improved Mutual Orbits of Transneptunian Binaries

We present three improved and five new mutual orbits of transneptunian binary systems (58534) Logos-Zoe, (66652) Borasisi-Pabu, (88611) Teharonhiawako-Sawiskera, (123509) 2000 WK183, (149780) Altjira, 2001 QY297, 2003 QW111, and 2003 QY90 based on Hubble Space Telescope and Keck 2 laser guide star adaptive optics observations. Combining the five new orbit solutions with 17 previously known orbits yields a sample of 22 mutual orbits for which the period P, semimajor axis a, and eccentricity e have been determined. These orbits have mutual periods ranging from 5 to over 800 days, semimajor axes ranging from 1,600 to 37,000 km, eccentricities ranging from 0 to 0.8, and system masses ranging from 2 x 10^17 to 2 x 10^22 kg. Based on the relative brightnesses of primaries and secondaries, most of these systems consist of near equal-sized pairs, although a few of the most massive systems are more lopsided. The observed distribution of orbital properties suggests that the most loosely-bound transneptunian binary systems are only found on dynamically cold heliocentric orbits. Of the 22 known binary mutual or-bits, orientation ambiguities are now resolved for 9, of which 7 are prograde and 2 are retro-grade, consistent with a random distribution of orbital orientations, but not with models predicting a strong preference for retrograde orbits. To the extent that other perturbations are not dominant, the binary systems undergo Kozai oscillations of their eccentricities and inclinations with periods of the order of tens of thousands to millions of years, some with strikingly high amplitudes.

astro-ph.EP↗