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Total mass of the Jupiter Trojans

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Abstract

The total mass of the Jupiter Trojans is estimated at (0.30 ± 0.19) × 10–10 M Sun using all available physical characteristics of these asteroids. The mass of asteroids in the L4 swarm ((0.19 ± 0.11) × 10–10 M Sun) is higher than that in the L5 swarm ((0.11 ± 0.07) × 10–10 M Sun) by a factor of 1.7. The obtained estimates include the hidden mass of asteroids that are not discovered yet. This hidden component constitutes 7% of the total mass. The number of Trojans with diameters larger than 1 km is estimated at 6 × 105. The number of such asteroids at the L4 Lagrangian point (N L4 = 4 × 105) is two times higher than that at the L5 Lagrangian point (N L5 = 2 × 105). It is found that the N L4/N L5 ratio is increased at smaller asteroid sizes or higher absolute magnitudes H. This ratio equals just 1.3 for asteroids with H <11m (i.e., asteroids with diameters D > 30 km). The effect of gravitational perturbations from Trojans on the motion of Hildian asteroids and centaurs is evaluated. This effect turned out to be at the limit of accuracy of modern observations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, nab. Kutuzova 10, St. Petersburg, 191187, Russia

    T. A. Vinogradova & Yu. A. Chernetenko

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  1. T. A. Vinogradova
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  2. Yu. A. Chernetenko
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Correspondence to T. A. Vinogradova.

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Original Russian Text © T.A. Vinogradova, Yu.A. Chernetenko, 2015, published in Astronomicheskii Vestnik, 2015, Vol. 49, No. 6, pp. 428–434.

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Vinogradova, T.A., Chernetenko, Y.A. Total mass of the Jupiter Trojans. Sol Syst Res 49, 391–397 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0038094615060076

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