0000000001150389
AUTHOR
Paolo Farinella
Collisional Evolution of Trojan Asteroids☆
Abstract We model the collisional evolution of Trojan asteroids using a numerical code which combines recent calculations of the intrinsic collision probabilities and impact speeds in the Trojan swarms (Marzariet al.1996) with our current understanding of the outcomes of high-velocity collisions between asteroid-sized bodies. Using plausible collision parameters and energy scaling of impact strength with size, we obtain a good match to the present Trojan population, as inferred by Shoemakeret al.(1989). The steep slope of the current Trojan size distribution at diameters larger than about 50–100 km is essentially unaltered by the collisional process and must reflect the formative processes …
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…