Secular spin dynamics of inner main-belt asteroids

Understanding the evolution of asteroid spin states is challenging work, in part because asteroids have a variety of orbits, shapes, spin states, and collisional histories but also because they are strongly influenced by gravitational and non-gravitational (YORP) torques. Using efficient numerical models designed to investigate asteroid orbit and spin dynamics, we study here how several individual asteroids have had their spin states modified over time in response to these torques (i.e., 951 Gaspra, 60 Echo, 32 Pomona, 230 Athamantis, 105 Artemis). These test cases which sample semimajor axis and inclination space in the inner main belt, were chosen as probes into the large parameter space described above. The ultimate goal is to use these data to statistically characterize how all asteroids in the main belt population have reached their present-day spin states. We found that the spin dynamics of prograde-rotating asteroids in the inner main belt is generally less regular than that of the retrograde-rotatine ones because of numerous overlapping secular spin-orbit resonances. These resonances strongly affect the spin histories of all bodies, while those of small asteroids (less than or similar to 40 km) are additionally influenced by YORP torques. In most cases, gravitational and non-gravitational torques cause asteroid spin axis orientations to vary widely over short (<= 1 My) timescales. Our results show that (951) Gaspra has a highly chaotic rotation state induced by an overlap of the s and s(6) spin-orbit resonances. This hinders our ability to investigate its past evolution and infer whether thermal torques have acted on Gaspra's spin axis since its origin. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.