Erosive Hit-and-Run Impact Events: Debris Unbound

TL;DR

This paper investigates erosive hit-and-run impacts among planetary embryos, showing how debris from such collisions can contribute to the asteroid belt's diversity and composition.

Contribution

It introduces a model for erosive impacts that produce unbound debris, linking planetary collisions to asteroid belt composition and diversity.

Findings

Collision debris differs from chondritic composition

Unbound debris can seed the asteroid belt

Collision processes influence asteroid diversity

Abstract

Erosive collisions among planetary embryos in the inner solar system can lead to multiple remnant bodies, varied in mass, composition and residual velocity. Some of the smaller, unbound debris may become available to seed the main asteroid belt. The makeup of these collisionally produced bodies is different from the canonical chondritic composition, in terms of rock/iron ratio and may contain further shock-processed material. Having some of the material in the asteroid belt owe its origin from collisions of larger planetary bodies may help in explaining some of the diversity and oddities in composition of different asteroid groups.