Roughness-Dependent Radiative Effects on Dimorphos within Hera's Reach
Abstract
Following the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact, radiative recoil, tides, and other dissipative processes drive the dynamical evolution of the Didymos-Dimorphos binary, yet the effect of unresolved surface roughness on radiative migration remains poorly quantified. We incorporate this roughness into a binary thermophysical model coupled to planar spin-orbit dynamics. During the 6-month investigation by ESA's Hera mission, surface roughness significantly reduces the radiative contribution to the mean orbital contraction rate by 28-39% relative to smooth surfaces for two post-impact shape models of Dimorphos in synchronous principal-axis rotation. With surface roughness included, planar-libration calculations still yield centimeter-scale radiation-driven orbital contraction that increases mean motion, contributing a mean of 40-85 deg to orbital-phase advance from DART to Hera's arrival. During Hera's investigation, radiative recoil in these calculations contributes a mean orbital-phase advance of 0.7-2.0 deg, which could be detectable given Hera's projected 0.05 deg formal orbital-longitude uncertainty. In the modeled tumbling state, the net radiative contribution to the mean orbital contraction rate over the same interval is much smaller, with surface roughness reducing it by 16-18%. These results identify thermal roughness as a key factor in radiative migration estimates that, combined with Hera's orbital and rotational observations, can constrain post-impact dissipation and rubble-pile mechanical properties relevant to planetary defense. Refining the thermophysical treatment of roughness with Hera's thermal and shape measurements can improve binary YORP estimates from remote infrared observations of other synchronous binaries, helping infer tidal response from measured orbital migration to probe asteroid interiors and advance understanding of binary evolution and lifetimes.
Related
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- Asteroid modelling by starlight diffraction: The shape of Dimorphos, the satellite of (65803) Didymos
- Tracking low-velocity ejecta from the DART impact on Dimorphos
- Post-DART impact ejecta re-accumulation on Dimorphos and implications for Hera gravity measurements
- Bianchi Type I Space -Time Geometry of the Universe with Time Dependent G and Λ Within the Framework of General Relativity: Observational Aspects
BibTeX
@misc{wu2026roughnessdependent,
title = {{Roughness-Dependent Radiative Effects on Dimorphos within Hera's Reach}},
author = {Yixuan Wu and Kin Thong Lee and Yifei Jiao and Bin Cheng and Zhaokui Wang and Hexi Baoyin},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.01235},
eprint = {2611.01235},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.01235},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Roughness-Dependent Radiative Effects on Dimorphos within Hera's Reach
AU - Yixuan Wu
AU - Kin Thong Lee
AU - Yifei Jiao
AU - Bin Cheng
AU - Zhaokui Wang
AU - Hexi Baoyin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.01235
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.01235
AB - Following the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impact, radiative recoil, tides, and other dissipative processes drive the dynamical evolution of the Didymos-Dimorphos binary, yet the effect of unresolved surface roughness on radiative migration remains poorly quantified. We incorporate this roughness into a binary thermophysical model coupled to planar spin-orbit dynamics. During the 6-month investigation by ESA's Hera mission, surface roughness significantly reduces the radiative contribution to the mean orbital contraction rate by 28-39% relative to smooth surfaces for two post-impact shape models of Dimorphos in synchronous principal-axis rotation. With surface roughness included, planar-libration calculations still yield centimeter-scale radiation-driven orbital contraction that increases mean motion, contributing a mean of 40-85 deg to orbital-phase advance from DART to Hera's arrival. During Hera's investigation, radiative recoil in these calculations contributes a mean orbital-phase advance of 0.7-2.0 deg, which could be detectable given Hera's projected 0.05 deg formal orbital-longitude uncertainty. In the modeled tumbling state, the net radiative contribution to the mean orbital contraction rate over the same interval is much smaller, with surface roughness reducing it by 16-18%. These results identify thermal roughness as a key factor in radiative migration estimates that, combined with Hera's orbital and rotational observations, can constrain post-impact dissipation and rubble-pile mechanical properties relevant to planetary defense. Refining the thermophysical treatment of roughness with Hera's thermal and shape measurements can improve binary YORP estimates from remote infrared observations of other synchronous binaries, helping infer tidal response from measured orbital migration to probe asteroid interiors and advance understanding of binary evolution and lifetimes.
ER -