Mean Motion Resonances in the Asteroid Belt

Abstract

The Kirkwood gaps in the main asteroidal belt (2 – 3.5 AU) coincide with the mean motion resonances with Jupiter (4/1, 3/1, 5/2, 7/3, 2/1). Similarly, several narrower gaps are observed in the outer asteroid belt (3.5–4 AU) at places of 11/6, 9/5, 7/4 and 5/3 Jovian resonances (Holman and Murray 1996). As it is now generally accepted, the formation and preservation of these gaps is due to the chaos of the resonant space and efficient ejection of the primordial and collisionaly injected bodies towards high eccentricities and planet-crossing orbits.