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Forming Binary Near-Earth Asteroids From Tidal Disruptions

Forming Binary Near-Earth Asteroids From Tidal Disruptions

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PrefaceMuch of the work in this dissertation is published, or in the process of being published.Chapter 2 appeared in the planetary-science journal Icarus, in nearly the same form aspresented here (Walsh & Richardson 2006). The work in Chapter 4 was recently submittedto the same journal, and is under review. Together, and with the results from Chapter3, this dissertation presents an ongoing study into the binary NEA population. As a wholeit provides details on the role that tidal disruption plays in creating the binary NEA population,and builds a framework for further studies in this field.Over the course of these studies the known population of binary asteroids in the SolarSystem has more than doubled. New discovery techniques have been used, and oldtechniques have been applied to different populations. Because of the rapidly changinglandscape, this work is quite timely and relevant to the latest observations and theoreticalwork being done. Beyond the answers provided about tidal disruption, the steady-statemodel will be able to incorporate new binary formation mechanisms as they become betterunderstood.ii

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