Shape models and spin states of Jupiter Trojans

The natural source region for the majority of JTs would then be the population of planetesimals born in a massive trans-Neptunian disk. If true, JTs represent the most accessible stable population of small Solar System bodies that formed in the outer regions of the Solar System.

For this work, we compiled photometric datasets for about 1000 JTs and applied the convex inversion technique in order to assess their shapes and spin states. We obtained full solutions for 79 JTs, and partial solutions for an additional 31 JTs. We found that the observed distribution of the pole obliquities of JTs is broadly consistent with expectations from the streaming instability, which is the leading mechanism for the formation of planetesimals in the trans-Neptunian disk.