Micrometeoroid events in LISA pathfinder
File(s)Thorpe_2019_ApJ_883_53.pdf (1.7 MB)
Published version
OA Location
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The zodiacal dust complex, a population of dust and small particles that pervades the solar system, provides important insight into the formation and dynamics of planets, comets, asteroids, and other bodies. We present a new set of data obtained from direct measurements of momentum transfer to a spacecraft from individual particle impacts. This technique is made possible by the extreme precision of the instruments flown on the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft, a technology demonstrator for a future space-based gravitational wave observatory. Pathfinder employed a technique known as drag-free control that achieved rejection of external disturbances, including particle impacts, using a micropropulsion system. Using a simple model of the impacts and knowledge of the control system, we show that it is possible to detect impacts and measure properties such as the transferred momentum, direction of travel, and location of impact on the spacecraft. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic search for impacts during 4348 hr of Pathfinder data. We report a total of 54 candidates with transferred momenta ranging from 0.2 to 230 μNs. We furthermore make a comparison of these candidates with models of micrometeoroid populations in the inner solar system, including those resulting from Jupiter-family comets (JFCs), Oort Cloud comets, Halley-type comets, and asteroids. We find that our measured population is consistent with a population dominated by JFCs, with some evidence for a smaller contribution from Halley-type comets, in agreement with consensus models of the zodiacal dust complex in the momentum range sampled by LISA Pathfinder.
Date Issued
2019-09-20
Date Acceptance
2019-07-25
Citation
The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics, 2019, 883 (1), pp.1-15
ISSN
0004-637X
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Start Page
1
End Page
15
Journal / Book Title
The Astrophysical Journal: an international review of astronomy and astronomical physics
Volume
883
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2019. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Sponsor
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000487114100010&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
ST/R001871/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Astronomy & Astrophysics
instrumentation: miscellaneous
meteorites, meteors, meteoroids
ORBITS
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 53
Date Publish Online
2019-09-19