Characterize the distribution of asteroid millimeter/submillimeter fluxes

Determine the statistical distribution (functional form and parameters) of flux densities of Solar System asteroids at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths to enable robust detection forecasts and to inform models of asteroid regolith properties and thermal emission.

Background

The paper discusses millimeter-wavelength observations of asteroids, noting a systematic deficit in flux compared to infrared expectations and highlighting recent catalogs of asteroid measurements with CMB experiments (ACT and SPT). Understanding the distribution of asteroid fluxes at these wavelengths is important for forecasting detection yields in wide-field surveys and for interpreting regolith properties that affect millimeter transparency and temperature gradients.

Because current knowledge of the low-flux regime is limited, the authors adopt simple scaling arguments from the asteroid size distribution to estimate detection numbers. A direct empirical characterization of the millimeter/submillimeter flux distribution across the asteroid population would remove this assumption and improve both astrophysical inferences and survey planning.