Depletion of the Outer Asteroid Belt

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

The depletion of the outer asteroid belt has been a puzzle for planetary scientists for a long time. Theories based on gravitational perturbations from planets at their current orbits fail to explain the observed structure of the outer belt, particularly between 3.5 and 3.9 astronomical units. However, the orbital configuration of planets today may not represent what it was when asteroids were formed. In the early history of the Solar system, orbital migration of the giant planets has been shown to be quite possible (Fernandez and Ip, 1984, Icarus 58:109-120; Fernandez and Ip, 1996, Planet. Sp. Sci. 44:431-439). This early dynamical history of the outer planets is also supported by a recent theory for the origin of Pluto and the structure of the Kuiper belt (Malhotra 1993, Nature 365:819-821; Malhotra 1995, AJ 110:420-429). We have studied the evolution of asteroids subject to perturbations of the giant planets, and we show that outer belt asteroids are depleted efficiently due to the mean motion resonance sweeping that accompanied the migration of giant planets.

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