Polarimetric evidence of close similarity between members of the Karin and Koronis dynamical families

Description

We present the results of a campaign of polarimetric observations of small asteroids belonging to the Karin and Koronis families, carried out at the ESO Cerro Paranal Observatory using the VLT-Kueyen 8-meter telescope. The Karin family is known to be very young, having likely been produced by the disruption of an original member of the Koronis family less than 6 My ago. The purpose of our study was to derive polarimetric properties for a reasonable sample of objects belonging to the two families, in order to look for possible systematic differences between them, to be interpreted in terms of differences in surface properties, in particular albedo. In turn, systematic albedo differences might be caused by different times of exposure to space weathering processes experienced by the two groups of objects. The results of our analysis indicate that no appreciable difference exists between the polarimetric properties of Karin and Koronis members. We thus find that space weathering mechanisms may be very efficient in affecting surface properties of S-class asteroids on very short timescales. This result complements some independent evidence found by recent spectroscopic studies of very young families.

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