Oral Presentation

The Asteroid Rotation Period Study Using PTF Data

Chang, Chan-Kao; Ip, Wing-Huen; Hsing-Wen Lin; Ngeow, Chow-Choong and the PTF team

The data of PTF taken from the dedicated observation during Feb 15th to 18th 2013 and the previous high cadence observation before January 2013 are processed to search asteroid rotation period. We obtain 610 known asteroids with high reliable rotation period so far. Such huge amount of asteroid rotation period is valuable for wide variety of study, such as testing various physical mechanisms on the rotation evolution of asteroid (i.e., differences between with/without Yarkovsky-O’Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack effect; Rubincam 2000), examining the size-dependent strength for small solar system bodies as described by Holsapple (2007, i.e., large size super-fast rotator). Moreover, it is possible to reveal new discovery like size dependent spin barrier (i.e., the spin limit is a function of asteroid’s size), survey on the lightcurve profile of objects close to the spin barrier at the large size end (i.e., diameter ≥ 10 km), differences between the lightcurve profiles of the excess of slow-rotating objects and the others at kilometer size end, and the relationship between rotation period and various dynamical/taxonomic asteroid groups . . . etc.