Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996dps....28.0706m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #28, #07.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 28, p.1082
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
1
Scientific paper
The discovery of trans-Neptunian Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt objects has opened up new ground for Solar system research. This paper speculates on the dynamical structure of the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt (EKB) and discusses broader implications for the Solar system. As a consequence of the orbital evolution of the giant planets during the late stages of their formation, a significant fraction of EKB objects may have been swept into a few narrow stable zones located at exterior mean motion resonances with Neptune (Malhotra 1995, AJ 110:420-429). Furthermore, these resonant objects are likely to be not in their primordial near-circular orbits, but rather in eccentric orbits, with eccentricities ranging up to Neptune-crossing values. Neptune-crossing, resonant orbits (e.g. Pluto-Charon) are long-lived due to the dynamical protection afforded by libration of their perihelia away from Neptune's longitude. However, some of these orbits do exhibit instability on billion year timescales; this allows for the delivery of short period comets, and possibly also ``Centaurs'', from Neptune's resonance zones. Resonant structure of the EKB has major implications for the dynamical evolution of the Solar system. The early orbital evolution of the giant planets is poorly constrained by current models of planet formation, but some constraints will be evident in a more complete census of the EKB population: the maximum orbital eccentricity and inclination of objects trapped in Neptune resonances is related to the extent and timescale of radial migration of Neptune. The extent of radial migration of the giant planets is determined by mass loss from the outer Solar system, and, hence, the mass of the Oort Cloud can be estimated. A small radial migration of Jupiter can account for the depletion of the outer asteroid belt (Liou et al. 1996, preprint). Orbital migration also facilitates capture of irregular satellites by the outer planets. Collisional evolution and present-day dust production in the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt would be significantly affected by the non-uniform orbital distribution.
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