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Astron. Astrophys. 344, 362-366 (1999)
A complete linear model for the Yarkovsky thermal force on spherical asteroid fragments
David Vokrouhlický
Institute of Astronomy, Charles University, V Hole
ovi
kách 2, CZ-180 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic (vokrouhl@mbox.cesnet.cz), and
Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, dept. CERGA, Av N. Copernic, F-06130 Grasse, France
Received 12 October 1998 / Accepted 8 January 1999
Abstract
A linear theory for heat conduction in a spherical, solid and
rotating body illuminated by solar radiation is developed. The recoil
force due to the thermally re-emitted radiation by the surface of the
body is computed, including all the terms depending both on the body's
rotation frequency and the mean motion of its revolution about the
Sun. The present solution thus overcomes a drawback of the previous
approaches, which have been tailored separately either to the diurnal
or to the seasonal variant of the so-called Yarkovsky effect,
corresponding to different limiting cases of the current theory. We
pay a special attention to compute the secular effects on the
semimajor axis of the body's orbit about the Sun. The results from the
general model coincide with those of the previous approaches to a high
level of accuracy, as the relative size of the additional "mixed"
terms is smaller than ![[FORMULA]](img1.gif)
for plausible
parameter choices. This confirms that the use of the simplified
formulæ is warranted in the relevant Solar System
applications.
Key words: celestial mechanics, stellar
dynamics 
meteors,
meteoroids
minor planets, asteroids
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Contents
© European Southern Observatory (ESO) 1999
Online publication: March 10, 1999
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