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.The Jovian mean motion resonances are not the most important in what concerns the chaos of the observed (i.e. remaining) asteroid population. It was estimated by Šidlichovský and Nesvorný (1998) that about 40% of known objects have the Lyapunov time less than 105 years. It was later found (Nesvorný and Morbidelli 1998, 1999; Morbidelli and Nesvorný 1999) that the resonances responsible for this chaos are, in decreasing order of importance: 1) three-body resonances with Jupiter and Saturn, 2) exterior resonances with Mars, 3) moderate order Jovian resonances, and 4) three-body resonances with Mars and Jupiter.