Physical models of asteroids from sparse photometric data

We present an overview of our work on shape and spin state determination of asteroids from photometric data sparse in time. Our results are based on simulations that were performed using realistic shape and light-scattering models and time sequences that will be provided by Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System). We show some typical examples of physical model reconstruction of main belt and near-Earth asteroids and discuss the lightcurve inversion of slow and fast rotators, binary asteroids and tumbling asteroids. We emphasize the scientific potential of sparse photometric data to produce models of a large number of asteroids within the next few years.