Abstract
ABSTRACT The dynamical structure of the Kuiper Belt beyond 50 au is not well understood. Here we report results of a numerical model with long-range, slow, and grainy migration of Neptune. The model implies that bodies scattered outward by Neptune to semimajor axes a > 50 au ?> often evolve into resonances which subsequently act to raise the perihelion distances of orbits to q > 40 au ?> . The implication of the model is that the orbits with 50 < a < 100 au ?> and q > 40 au ?> should cluster near (but not in) the resonances with Neptune (3:1 at a = 62.6 au, 4:1 at a = 75.9 au ?> , 5:1 at a = 88.0 au ?> , etc.). The recent detection of several distant Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) near resonances is consistent with this prediction, but it is not yet clear whether the orbits are really non-resonant as our model predicts. We estimate from the model that there should presently be ∼1600–2400 bodies at the 3:1 resonance and ∼1000–1400 bodies at the 4:1 resonance (for q > 40 au ?> and diameters D > 100 ?> km). These results favorably compare with the population census of distant KBOs inferred from existing observations.
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