Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.3806s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #38.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.465
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
1
Scientific paper
The dynamical properties of small solar system bodies offer one of the few constraints on the formation, evolution and migration of the giant planets. Trojan asteroids share a planet's semi-major axis but lead or follow the planet by about 60 degrees near the two triangular Lagrangian points of equilibrium. Currently only a few bright Neptune Trojans are known but their population is expected to be several times larger than the main belt asteroids and Jupiter Trojans. We have conducted the first ultra deep wide-field survey for faint Trojans of Neptune. Our successful survey shows there is a turnover at the faint end of the Cumulative Luminosity Function (CLF) for Neptune Trojans. This result is similar to recent CLF studies obtained for faint Jupiter Trojans and Kuiper Belt objects. A turnover at the faint end of the CLF is likely an indication that the smaller objects have been collisionally eroded and dynamically lost.
Sheppard Scott S.
Trujillo Chad A.
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