Related papers: Measuring Apsidal Clustering
Transneptunian objects (TNOs) are a source of invaluable information to access the history and evolution of the outer solar system. However, observing these faint objects is a difficult task. As a consequence, important properties such as…
We report the discovery and orbit determination of 14 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the ESSENCE Supernova Survey difference imaging dataset. Two additional objects discovered in a similar search of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey…
The migration of Neptune's resonances through the proto-Kuiper belt has been imprinted in the distribution of small bodies in the outer Solar System. Here we analyze five published Neptune migration models in detail, focusing on the high…
X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect observations can be combined to measure the distance to clusters of galaxies. If the intracluster gas distribution is not spherical, but elongated by a factor of Z along the line of sight, the inferred…
In addition to cosmological tests based on the mass function and clustering of galaxy clusters, which probe the growth of cosmic structure, nature offers two independent ways of using clusters to measure cosmic distances. The first uses…
Recent analyses have shown that distant orbits within the scattered disk population of the Kuiper belt exhibit an unexpected clustering in their respective arguments of perihelion. While several hypotheses have been put forward to explain…
Stellar occultations provide a powerful tool to explore objects of the outer solar system. The Gaia mission now provides milli-arcsec accuracy on the predictions of these events and makes possible observations that were previously…
Recent observational surveys of the outer Solar System provide evidence that Neptune's distant $n$:1 mean-motion resonances may harbor relatively large reservoirs of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). In particular, the discovery of two…
Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are small, icy bodies in the outer solar system. They are observed to have a complex orbital distribution that was shaped by the early dynamical history and migration of the giant planets. Comparisons between…
Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are remnants of a collisionally and dynamically evolved planetesimal disk in the outer solar system. This complex structure, known as the trans-Neptunian belt (or Edgeworth-Kuiper belt), can reveal important…
We use astrometry of Pluto and other TNOs to constrain the sky location, distance, and mass of the possible additional planet (Planet Nine) hypothesized by Batygin and Brown (2016). We find that over broad regions of the sky, the inclusion…
The Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) exhibit an orbital clustering of the outer planets lying at perihelion distances larger than Neptune and semimajor axes greater than 150 AU from the Sun. This implies a hitherto unknown dynamical mechanism to…
For extrasolar planets with orbital periods, P>10 days, radial velocity surveys find non-circular orbital eccentricities are common, <e>~0.3. Future surveys for extrasolar planets using the transit technique will also have sensitivity to…
A popular method for selecting the number of clusters is based on stability arguments: one chooses the number of clusters such that the corresponding clustering results are "most stable". In recent years, a series of papers has analyzed the…
Determination of cluster masses is a fundamental tool for cosmology. Comparing mass estimates obtained by different probes allows to understand possible systematic uncertainties. The cluster Abell 315 is an interesting test case, since it…
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…
Galaxy clusters are thought to grow hierarchically through the continuous merging and accretion of smaller structures across cosmic time. In the local Universe, these phenomena are still active in the outer regions of massive clusters…
The outskirts of galaxy clusters host complex interactions between the intra-cluster and circumcluster media. During cluster evolution, ram-pressure stripped gas clumps from infalling substructures break the uniformity of the gas…
The Taiwan-America Occultation Survey (TAOS) aims to determine the number of small icy bodies in the outer reach of the Solar System by means of stellar occultation. An array of 4 robotic small (D=0.5 m), wide-field (f/1.9) telescopes have…
The most distant known trans-Neptunian objects (perihelion distance above 38 au and semimajor axis above 150 au) are of interest for their potential to reveal past, external, or present but unseen perturbers. Realizing this potential…