The polarimetric study of (331471) 1984QY1: an asteroid in comet-like orbit

Spatial distribution of atmosphereless bodies in the solar system provides an important clue as to their origins, namely asteroids from Mainbelt or comets from outer solar system. It is, however, difficult to distinguish asteroids and dormant comets due to their similar appearances. In this study, we conducted a unique observation to differentiate asteroids and dormant comets in terms of 'polarimetry'. We observed (331471) 1984 QY1 (hereafter QY1) at large phase angles using the Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) on the 1.6-m Pirka Telescope from UT 2016 May 25 to June 24. QY1 is a dormant comet candidate in terms of the dynamical properties (i.e. the Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter, TJ = 2.68). We analyzed the polarization degree of QY1 as a function of phase angle and found its maximum polarization degree, $Pmax=8.68{\pm}0.28%$ and $8.72{\pm}0.38%$, in RC-and V-band, respectively, around the phase angle of ${\alpha}=100^{\circ}$. In addition, we obtained the geometric albedo, $pV=0.16{\pm}0.02$ by means of an empirical slope-albedo law. The polarimetric properties and the albedo value we acquired are similar to those of S-type asteroids rather than cometary nuclei. In this presentation, we introduce our observation and findings. In addition, we further discuss a dynamical transportation process from Mainbelt to the current orbit.