Effects of YORP-Induced Rotational Fission on the Asteroid Size Distribution at the Small Size End

The asteroid belt size distribution has been shaped by collisions slowly grinding the population away into smaller bodies via cratering or fragmentation. However, at the small size end YORP may contribute to the erosion process by accelerating the rotation rate of small asteroids beyond their disruption spin limit causing mass shedding and fission. This can explain why, according to NEOWISE, the slope of NEOs is about -1.32, significantly less steep than previous estimates which accounted for the Yarkovsky steepening effect.