Open AccessPerformance of the D ‐criteria in recovery of meteoroid stream orbits in a radar data set
Author(s) -
Galligan D.P.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04858.x
Subject(s) - meteoroid , physics , comet , orbital inclination , meteor (satellite) , orbital elements , streams , set (abstract data type) , astrophysics , asteroid , orbit (dynamics) , astronomy , computer science , binary number , mathematics , arithmetic , computer network , programming language , engineering , aerospace engineering
In order to determine stream structure within the meteoroid orbital dust cloud, which may help in our understanding of progenitor comet and asteroid bodies, a method involving dissimilarity functions called D ‐criteria must be used. It is important to understand the response of these criteria to particular orbital orientations. Simulations are performed to determine the applicability of four D ‐criteria functions in retrieving meteor stream members, with due regard for sporadic background intrusion, in radar detected data sets. The AMOR data set is used as a particular example of the latter. It is found that the Southworth & Hawkins’ criterion ( D SH ) performs satisfactorily but requires quite different cut‐off levels depending on the orbital inclination angle of the stream. Valsecchi et al.'s criterion ( D N ) performs more evenly over different prograde orbital orientations. The modifications to D SH proposed by Drummond ( D D ) and Jopek ( D H ) are also explored. For low prograde inclination streams , , , cut‐off levels are found to retrieve 70 per cent of a simulated stream. For higher prograde inclination streams , , , cut‐off levels are used. For retrograde orbits and are found to retrieve 70 per cent of the members in the case of three retrograde streams studied. D SH and D H require such high cut‐off values, especially in the case of the η Aquarids, that a value is not listed here.