Related papers: Kuiper Belt Formation via Grainy Planetary Migrati…
Observations of the Kuiper Belt indicate that a larger than expected percentage of KBO's (approximately 8 out of 500) are in binary pairs. The formation and survival of such objects presents a conundrum [1]. Two competing theories have been…
(Abridged) Using an efficient computational approach, we have reconstructed the structure of the dust cloud in the Solar system between 0.5 and 100 AU produced by the Kuiper belt objects. Our simulations offer a 3-D physical model of the…
Through a semi-analytic approach of the Kozai resonance inside an MMR, we show phase diagrams (e,{\omega}) that suggest the possibility of a scattered particle, after being captured in an MMR with Neptune, to become a detached object. We…
The observational census of trans-Neptunian objects with semi-major axes greater than ~250 AU exhibits unexpected orbital structure that is most readily attributed to gravitational perturbations induced by a yet-undetected, massive planet.…
Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with diameter greater than 100 km currently moving in not too eccentric orbits could be formed directly by the contraction of large rarefied condensations. Along with the gravitational influence of planets,…
The Oort Cloud, the Kuiper Belt and the Scattered Disk are dynamically distinct populations of small bodies evolving in the outer regions of the Solar System. Whereas their collisional activity is now quiet, gravitational interactions with…
Chiang et al. 2006, hereafter C06 have recently proposed that the observed structure of the Kuiper belt could be the result of a dynamical instability of a system of ~5 primordial ice giant planets in the outer Solar System. According to…
In part I, using an effective computational approach, we have reconstructed the population of dust sources between Jupiter and Neptune. Here, in part II, we present the results on distribution of dust produced by 157 real sources (100…
In our previous study of Neptune's 4:7 mean motion resonance (MMR), we discovered that its resonant angle can only librate within a specific eccentricity ($e$) versus inclination ($i$) region, determined by a theoretical limiting curve…
In this paper on mean motion resonances in the Kuiper belt we consider effects on resonant bodies captured in an earlier migration by determining levels of chaos as a function of eccentricity, e, at the most stable orbital configuration. We…
The spatial distribution of Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) in 2:1 exterior resonance with Neptune constrains that planet's migration history. Numerical simulations demonstrate that fast planetary migration generates a larger population of KBOs…
The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, are primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past one of these objects, the 36 km…
This paper reviews coagulation models for planet formation in the Kuiper Belt, emphasizing links to recent observations of our and other solar systems. At heliocentric distances of 35-50 AU, single annulus and multiannulus planetesimal…
A critical step toward the emergence of planets in a protoplanetary disk consists in accretion of planetesimals, bodies 1-1000 km in size, from smaller disk constituents. This process is poorly understood partly because we lack good…
(Abridged) New optical colors of 58 objects in mean motion resonances with Neptune show the various resonant populations have significantly different color distributions. The 5:3 and 7:4 resonances have semi-major axes near the middle of…
In this work, we investigate the dynamical stability of pre-formed Neptune Trojans under the gravitational influence of the four giant planets in compact planetary architectures, over 10 Myr. In our modelling, the initial orbital locations…
We describe planetesimal accretion calculations in the Kuiper Belt. Our evolution code simulates planetesimal growth in a single annulus and includes velocity evolution but not fragmentation. Test results match analytic solutions and…
The small bodies in the Kuiper Belt region of the distant Solar System are leftovers from planet formation. Their orbital distribution today tells us about how giant planets migrated, while their surface properties, shapes, and sizes tell…
The observed physical clustering of the orbits of small bodies in the distant Kuiper Belt (TNOs) has recently prompted the prediction of an additional planet in the outer solar system. Since the initial posing of the hypothesis, the effects…
Observations of circumbinary planets orbiting very close to the central stars have shown that planet formation may occur in a very hostile environment, where the gravitational pull from the binary should be very strong on the primordial…