By using a hydrodynamic atmospheric escape mechanism \citep{amit09} we show how the unusually high mass density of Quaoar could have been predicted (constrained), without any knowledge of a binary companion. We suggest an explanation of the recent spectroscopic observations of Orcus and Charon \citep{delsanti10,cook07}. We present a simple relation between the detection of certain volatile ices and the body mass density and diameter. As a test case we implement the relations on the KBO 2003 AZ84 and give constraints on its mass density. We also present a method of relating the latitude-dependence of hydrodynamic gas escape to the internal structure of a rapidly rotating body and apply it to Haumea.
@article{arxiv.1008.1105,
title = {Estimating the Density of Intermediate Size KBOs from Considerations of Volatile Retention},
author = {Amit Levi and Morris Podolak},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1008.1105},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
37 pages, 5 figures. Much revised version. To appear in Icarus