Context. Aims.We present evidence that four minor planets of the main belt are binary systems. Methods.These discoveries are based on CCD photometric measurements made by many observers coordinated ...in a network of observatories. Results.Orbital and physical properties are derived from a total of 134 partial light curves involving 26 stations. (854) Frostia, (1089) Tama, (1313) Berna, and (4492) Debussy show mutual eclipses features on their light curves. In all cases, rotation and revolution are synchronous. Synodic periods are 37.728, 16.444, 25.464 and 26.606 h respectively. From a simple model, we have derived their bulk densities as follows: 0.89 ± 0.14, 2.52 ± 0.30, 1.22 ± 0.15 and 0.91 ± 0.10 g cm-3 respectively. Uncertainties in the bulk densities, arising from scattering and shadow effects are not taken into account. These could increase the density estimates by a factor up to 1.6. Our method of determining bulk density is completely independent of their mass and their diameter estimates. The low rotational periods and the low bulk densities clearly imply a collisional process to explain this kind of binary asteroid. Based on our database of a few thousand light curves of minor planets, the population of similar-sized objects in the main belt is estimated to $6\pm 3$ percent in the 10–50 km diameter class. Conclusions.
Context. The larger number of models of asteroid shapes and their rotational states derived by the lightcurve inversion give us better insight into both the nature of individual objects and the whole ...asteroid population. With a larger statistical sample we can study the physical properties of asteroid populations, such as main-belt asteroids or individual asteroid families, in more detail. Shape models can also be used in combination with other types of observational data (IR, adaptive optics images, stellar occultations), e.g., to determine sizes and thermal properties. Aims. We use all available photometric data of asteroids to derive their physical models by the lightcurve inversion method and compare the observed pole latitude distributions of all asteroids with known convex shape models with the simulated pole latitude distributions. Methods. We used classical dense photometric lightcurves from several sources (Uppsala Asteroid Photometric Catalogue, Palomar Transient Factory survey, and from individual observers) and sparse-in-time photometry from the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Catalina Sky Survey, and La Palma surveys (IAU codes 689, 703, 950) in the lightcurve inversion method to determine asteroid convex models and their rotational states. We also extended a simple dynamical model for the spin evolution of asteroids used in our previous paper. Results. We present 119 new asteroid models derived from combined dense and sparse-in-time photometry. We discuss the reliability of asteroid shape models derived only from Catalina Sky Survey data (IAU code 703) and present 20 such models. By using different values for a scaling parameter cYORP (corresponds to the magnitude of the YORP momentum) in the dynamical model for the spin evolution and by comparing synthetic and observed pole-latitude distributions, we were able to constrain the typical values of the cYORP parameter as between 0.05 and 0.6.
Photometric data on 17 binary near-Earth asteroids (15 of them are certain detections, two are probables) were analysed and characteristic properties of the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) binary ...population were inferred. We have found that binary systems with a secondary-to-primary mean diameter ratio
D
s
/
D
p
⩾
0.18
concentrate among NEAs smaller than 2 km in diameter; the abundance of such binaries decreases significantly among larger NEAs. Secondaries show an upper size limit of
D
s
=
0.5
–
1
km
. Systems with
D
s
/
D
p
⩽
0.5
are abundant but larger satellites are significantly less common. Primaries have spheroidal shapes and they rotate rapidly, with periods concentrating between 2.2 to 2.8 h and with a tail of the distribution up to ∼4 h. The fast rotators are close to the critical spin for rubble piles with bulk densities about 2 g/cm
3. Orbital periods show an apparent cut-off at
P
orb
∼
11
h
; closer systems with shorter orbital periods have not been discovered, which is consistent with the Roche limit for strengthless bodies. Secondaries are more elongated on average than primaries. Most, but not all, of their rotations appear to be synchronized with the orbital motion; nonsynchronous secondary rotations may occur especially among wider systems with
P
orb
>
20
h. The specific total angular momentum of most of the binary systems is similar to within ±20% and close to the angular momentum of a sphere with the same total mass and density, rotating at the disruption limit; this suggests that the binaries were created by mechanism(s) related to rotation near the critical limit and that they neither gained nor lost significant amounts of angular momentum during or since formation. A comparison with six small asynchronous binaries detected in the main belt of asteroids suggests that the population extends beyond the region of terrestrial planets, but with characteristics shifted to larger sizes and longer periods. The estimated mean proportion of binaries with
D
s
/
D
p
⩾
0.18
among NEAs larger than 0.3 km is
15
±
4
%
. Among fastest rotating NEAs larger than 0.3 km with periods between 2.2 and 2.8 h, the mean proportion of such binaries is (66
+10
−12)%.
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