A. O. Ribeiro, F. Roig, M. Cañada-Assandri, J. M. F. Carvano, F. L. Jasmin, A. Alvarez-Candal, R. Gil-Hutton
Context: The Mars crossing region constitutes a path to deliver asteroids from the Inner Main Belt to the Earth crossing space. While both the Inner Main Belt and the population of Earth crossing asteroids contains a significant fraction of asteroids belonging to the V taxonomic class, none of such V-type asteroids has been detected in the Mars crossing region up to now. Aims: To search and find asteroids belonging to the V class among the populations of Mars crossing asteroids, in order to support alternative paths to the delivery of this bodies into the Earth crossing region. Methods: We selected 18 candidate V-type asteroids in the Mars crossing region using observations contained in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Moving Objects Catalog. Then, we observed 4 of these candidates to take their visible spectra using the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR). We also performed the numerical simulation of the orbital evolution of 3 of the observed asteroids. Results: We confirmed that 3 of the observed asteroids belong to the V class, and one of these may follow a path that drives it to an Earth collision in some tens of million years.
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http://arxiv.org/abs/1307.4445
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