Albedo Modification to Amplify the Yarkovsky Effect on a 50-Metre Asteroid Over Twenty Years

This paper computes the deflection obtained by changing the surface albedo of a 50 m asteroid of mass 111,264,740 kg so as to amplify its natural thermal recoil acceleration from 6.72e-13 to 3.02e-12 m per second squared, an enhancement factor of 4.5, using 1,200 kg of coating applied over 62 percent of the surface. Acting for 20 years the enhanced recoil delivers 1.91 mm per second against a requirement of 1.7 mm per second for a 1,500 km displacement with twenty years of warning, a margin ratio of 1.12 and a computed separation of 1,686.5 km. This is a computed study of a deflection system for planetary defence, with no targeting or weapon application. It is simulated, not measured.