Simulation of Seismic Wave Propagation on Asteroid Ryugu Induced by The Impact Experiment of The Hayabusa2 Mission: Limited Mass Transport by Low Yield Strength of Porous Regolith

Seismic shaking has been regarded as an essential source of resurfacing on asteroids. The Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) operation on Hayabusa2 has been expected to be a unique opportunity for testing in situ seismic shaking whose energy is sufficiently large to excite observable surface modification. However, no obvious regolith hopping was identified even immediately outside of the crater formed by the SCI impact. To understand this discrepancy from the expectation, we simulate seismic wave propagation on Ryugu with a wide range of surface material properties and evaluate maximum acceleration on the surface. Numerical results reveal that low-quality factor or low seismic efficiency is required to explain the lack of geomorphological change after the SCI experiment. Considering that scattering under anhydrous conditions cannot efficiently dissipate energy, such a low-quality factor is not plausible. The weak yield strength in porous materials can efficiently decrease seismic wave energies, making the apparent seismic efficiency extremely low. Based on this hypothesis, we propose a formulation of surface mobility on asteroids that considers the physical properties of regolith. We consistently estimate the occurrence of seismic shaking with the existence of unstable boulders on Ryugu.

Automated summary

Simulations and evaluations of seismic wave propagation on the Ryugu asteroid reveal that low-quality factor or low seismic efficiency can explain the lack of geomorphological change after the SCI experiment. The weak yield strength in porous materials is proposed to efficiently decrease seismic wave energies.