Related papers: On the Dynamics of Resonant Kuiper Belt Objects
It has been an interesting question that why there are one-third of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) trapped into the 3:2 resonance but, in contrast, only several KBOs are claimed to be associated with the 2:1 resonance. In a model proposed by…
Due to the angular momentum exchange with planetesimals, Neptune might have migrated outward to the current position, and captured many Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) into resonances. We set up a semi-analytic model to simulate the outward…
Approximately 10-20% of all Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) occupy mean-motion resonances with Neptune. This dynamical configuration likely resulted from resonance capture as Neptune migrated outward during the late stages of planet formation.…
The origin of the highly eccentric, inclined, and resonance-locked orbit of Pluto has long been a puzzle. A possible explanation has been proposed recently [Malhotra, R., {\it Nature} 365:819-21 (1993)] which suggests that these…
We explore the origin and orbital evolution of the Kuiper belt in the framework of a recent model of the dynamical evolution of the giant planets, sometimes known as the Nice model. This model is characterized by a short, but violent,…
Our current knowledge of the dynamical structure of the Kuiper Belt is reviewed here. Numerical results on long term orbital evolution and dynamical mechanisms underlying the transport of objects out of the Kuiper Belt are discussed.…
As part of our ongoing Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES) of the Kuiper belt, we report on the occupation of the 1:1 (Trojan), 4:3, 3:2, 7:4, 2:1, and 5:2 Neptunian mean-motion resonances (MMRs). The occupation of the 1:1 and 5:2 MMRs is not easily…
Our understanding of the history of the solar system has undergone a revolution in recent years, owing to new theoretical insights into the origin of Pluto and the discovery of the Kuiper belt and its rich dynamical structure. The emerging…
Inward migration of giant planets is predicted by hydrodynamical simulations during the gas phase of the protoplanetary disc. The phenomenon is also invoked to explain resonant and near-resonant exoplanetary system structures. The early…
This paper shows that the inclinations of bodies captured into mean motion resonances in the Kuiper belt have remained very nearly unchanged, being only slightly increased from initial lower values by migration and/or by long-term planetary…
The Solar system beyond Neptune is believed to house a population of small primordial bodies left over from the planet formation process. The region up to heliocentric distance $\sim 50 AU$ (a.k.a. the Kuiper Belt) may be the source of the…
Nbody simulations are used to examine the consequences of Neptune's outward migration into the Kuiper Belt, with the simulated endstates being compared rigorously and quantitatively to the observations. These simulations confirm the…
There is a drag force on objects moving in the background cosmological metric, known from galaxy cluster dynamics. The force is quite small over laboratory timescales, yet it applies in principle to all moving bodies in the universe. It…
The dynamical structure of the Kuiper belt can be used as a clue to the formation and evolution of the Solar System, planetary systems in general, and Neptune's early orbital history in particular. The problem is best addressed by forward…
We analyze a detailed Nice model simulation of Kuiper Belt emplacement from Brasser & Morbidelli (2013), where Neptune undergoes a high eccentricity phase and migrates outward. In this work, which follows from Pike et al. (2017), we…
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…
The emergence of orbital resonances among planets is a natural consequence of the early dynamical evolution of planetary systems. While it is well-established that convergent migration is necessary for mean-motion commensurabilities to…
The Kuiper belt is a population of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. A particularly puzzling and up-to-now unexplained feature of the Kuiper belt is the so-called `kernel', a concentration of orbits with semimajor axes a~44 AU,…
Past planetary missions have been broad and detailed for Gas Giants, compared to flyby missions for Ice Giants. Presently, a mission to Neptune using electrodynamic tethers is under consideration due to the ability of tethers to provide…
We numerically investigate the possibility that a close stellar encounter could account for the high inclinations of the Kuiper belt, as originally proposed by Ida, Larwood and Burkert, however we consider encounters with pericenters within…