{"title":"Describing the fragment mass distribution in meteorite showers","authors":"I.G. Brykina, L.A. Egorova","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2024.105838","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The mass distribution of fragments is an important characteristic that often needs to be defined for forward modelling the interaction of disrupted meteoroids and asteroids with the atmosphere, and which can be inferred to some extent by the distribution of meteorites that fell to the ground. In previous studies, we derived a formula for the mass distribution of fragments of a disrupted body assuming a power law for the distribution in a differential form, and applied this formula to describe the results of many impact experiments modelling fragmentation of asteroids in outer space. The formula represents the cumulative number of fragments as a function of the fragment mass normalized to the total mass, the mass fraction of the largest fragment and the power index, which is the only free parameter adjusted to best fit the analytical distribution to the empirical one. Here, we use the proposed formula to describe the mass distributions of recovered meteorites that fell to the ground after the passage and disruption of thirteen extraterrestrial objects in the atmosphere, as well as the mass distributions of fragments of meteorite samples disrupted in impact experiments. A comparison is made between the distributions of unevaporated fragments of bodies disrupted in the atmosphere and the distributions obtained after the disruption of bodies in experiments. Some regularities in meteorite distributions and the influence of the incompleteness of the available collection of meteorites on their mass distribution are discussed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Planetary and Space Science","FirstCategoryId":"101","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032063324000023","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The mass distribution of fragments is an important characteristic that often needs to be defined for forward modelling the interaction of disrupted meteoroids and asteroids with the atmosphere, and which can be inferred to some extent by the distribution of meteorites that fell to the ground. In previous studies, we derived a formula for the mass distribution of fragments of a disrupted body assuming a power law for the distribution in a differential form, and applied this formula to describe the results of many impact experiments modelling fragmentation of asteroids in outer space. The formula represents the cumulative number of fragments as a function of the fragment mass normalized to the total mass, the mass fraction of the largest fragment and the power index, which is the only free parameter adjusted to best fit the analytical distribution to the empirical one. Here, we use the proposed formula to describe the mass distributions of recovered meteorites that fell to the ground after the passage and disruption of thirteen extraterrestrial objects in the atmosphere, as well as the mass distributions of fragments of meteorite samples disrupted in impact experiments. A comparison is made between the distributions of unevaporated fragments of bodies disrupted in the atmosphere and the distributions obtained after the disruption of bodies in experiments. Some regularities in meteorite distributions and the influence of the incompleteness of the available collection of meteorites on their mass distribution are discussed.
期刊介绍:
Planetary and Space Science publishes original articles as well as short communications (letters). Ground-based and space-borne instrumentation and laboratory simulation of solar system processes are included. The following fields of planetary and solar system research are covered:
• Celestial mechanics, including dynamical evolution of the solar system, gravitational captures and resonances, relativistic effects, tracking and dynamics
• Cosmochemistry and origin, including all aspects of the formation and initial physical and chemical evolution of the solar system
• Terrestrial planets and satellites, including the physics of the interiors, geology and morphology of the surfaces, tectonics, mineralogy and dating
• Outer planets and satellites, including formation and evolution, remote sensing at all wavelengths and in situ measurements
• Planetary atmospheres, including formation and evolution, circulation and meteorology, boundary layers, remote sensing and laboratory simulation
• Planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres, including origin of magnetic fields, magnetospheric plasma and radiation belts, and their interaction with the sun, the solar wind and satellites
• Small bodies, dust and rings, including asteroids, comets and zodiacal light and their interaction with the solar radiation and the solar wind
• Exobiology, including origin of life, detection of planetary ecosystems and pre-biological phenomena in the solar system and laboratory simulations
• Extrasolar systems, including the detection and/or the detectability of exoplanets and planetary systems, their formation and evolution, the physical and chemical properties of the exoplanets
• History of planetary and space research