Multifractal fits to the observed main belt asteroid distribution
Dohnanyi's (1969) theory predicts that a collisional system such as the asteroidal population of the main belt should rapidly relax to a power-law stationary size distribution of the kind $N(m)\propto m^{-\alpha}$, with $\alpha$ very close to 11/6, provided all the collisional response parameters are independent on size. The actual asteroid belt distribution at observable sizes, instead, does not exhibit such a simple fractal size distribution. We investigate in this work the possibility that the corresponding cumulative distribution may be instead fairly fitted by multifractal distributions. This multifractal behavior, in contrast with the Dohnany fractal distribution, is related to the re…
Impact Energy Flux on Earth in the Last 150 Ma as Inferred from the Cratering Records
We have used a compilation of 30 well-dated large impact craters on Earth (i.e., diameters larger than 5 km) younger than 150 Ma, their diameters, geochronologic ages, and the corresponding uncertainties to construct a graph summarizing our current knowledge on the influx of the impact energy onto the Earth as a function of time. From the crater diameters, we estimated the corresponding impact energies through suitable scaling laws. Then to each crater we associated a gaussian (bell) function of time centered at its age. Finally, all the bell functions corresponding to different craters were summed up and the resulting curve was plotted. From this curve, it is apparent that the 65 Ma old Ch…
Small solar system bodies as granular systems
Asteroids and other Small Solar System Bodies (SSSBs) are currently of great scientific and even industrial interest. Asteroids exist as the permanent record of the formation of the Solar System and therefore hold many clues to its understanding as a whole, as well as insights into the formation of planetary bodies. Additionally, SSSBs are being investigated in the context of impact risks for the Earth, space situational awareness and their possible industrial exploitation (asteroid mining). In all these aspects, the knowledge of the geophysical characteristics of SSSB surface and internal structure are of great importance. Given their size, constitution, and the evidence that many SSSBs ar…