Abstract
An analytical gravity modeling formulation for heterogeneous bodies is developed in this paper, in which the compact closed formulation of gravitational potential and attraction is derived analytically. Using linear-interpolated density over finite element meshes, the formulation shows global convergence and consistent reliability in both exterior and interior, and on the interface. The contribution caused by arbitrary non-spherical shape and non-uniform mass distribution is considered separately in this method, which brings natural flexibility to gravity modeling. Benchmark tests are performed to verify the global convergence and reliability. A typical application to asteroid (25143) Itokawa is shown at the end of this paper, which proves the capacity and reliability of this method in gravity modeling of a practical irregularly-shaped heterogeneous asteroid.
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Data Availability
All data used in this article are publicly accessible. High-resolution shape model of Itokawa can be obtained in NASA Planetary Data System.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge financial support provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant Nos. 12022212 and 11872223.
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YY, JFL and WYD devised the project and conceptual ideas. Technical details were completed by WYD, YY and HB. WYD performed the computational works. WYD and BC analyzed computation results. The paper writing was completed by WYD, YY and BC. All authors approved of this manuscript.
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Dai, WY., Yu, Y., Cheng, B. et al. Analytical formulation for gravitation modeling of mass-heterogeneous bodies. J Geod 96, 100 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-022-01684-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-022-01684-z