Search strategies for Trojan asteroids in the inner Solar System

Abstract

Trojan asteroids are minor planets that share the orbit of a planet about the Sun and librate around the L4 or L5 Lagrangian points of stability. They are important because they carry information on early Solar System formation, when collisions between bodies were more frequent. Discovery and study of terrestrial planet Trojans will help constrain models for the distribution of bodies and interactions in the inner Solar System. We present models that constrain optimal search areas, and strategies for survey telescopes to maximize the probability of detecting inner planet Trojans. We also consider implications for detection with respect to the Gaia satellite, and limitations of Gaia's observing geometry.