Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt
Using data from the Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES), we investigate the inclination distributions of objects in the Kuiper Belt. We present a derivation for observational bias removal and use this procedure to generate unbiased inclination distributions for Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) of different DES dyn...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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IOP Publishing
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73580 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9468-7477 |
| _version_ | 1826213437523361792 |
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| author | Gulbis, Amanda A. S. Elliot, James L. Adams, Elisabeth Rose Benecchi, Susan D. Buie, Marc W. Trilling, David E. Wasserman, L. H. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Gulbis, Amanda A. S. Elliot, James L. Adams, Elisabeth Rose Benecchi, Susan D. Buie, Marc W. Trilling, David E. Wasserman, L. H. |
| author_sort | Gulbis, Amanda A. S. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Using data from the Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES), we investigate the inclination distributions of objects in the Kuiper Belt. We present a derivation for observational bias removal and use this procedure to generate unbiased inclination distributions for Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) of different DES dynamical classes, with respect to the Kuiper Belt plane. Consistent with previous results, we find that the inclination distribution for all DES KBOs is well fit by the sum of two Gaussians, or a Gaussian plus a generalized Lorentzian, multiplied by sin i. Approximately 80% of KBOs are in the high-inclination grouping. We find that Classical object inclinations are well fit by sin i multiplied by the sum of two Gaussians, with roughly even distribution between Gaussians of widths 2.0[superscript +0.6] [subscript –0.5°] and 8.1[superscript +2.6] [subscript –2.1°]. Objects in different resonances exhibit different inclination distributions. The inclinations of Scattered objects are best matched by sin i multiplied by a single Gaussian that is centered at 19.1[superscript +3.9] [subscript –3.6°] with a width of 6.9[superscript +4.1] [subscript –2.7°]. Centaur inclinations peak just below 20°, with one exceptionally high-inclination object near 80°. The currently observed inclination distribution of the Centaurs is not dissimilar to that of the Scattered Extended KBOs and Jupiter-family comets, but is significantly different from the Classical and Resonant KBOs. While the sample sizes of some dynamical classes are still small, these results should begin to serve as a critical diagnostic for models of solar system evolution. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:49:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/73580 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:49:11Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/735802022-10-02T04:17:41Z Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt Gulbis, Amanda A. S. Elliot, James L. Adams, Elisabeth Rose Benecchi, Susan D. Buie, Marc W. Trilling, David E. Wasserman, L. H. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Gulbis, Amanda A. S. Elliot, James L. Adams, Elisabeth Rose Using data from the Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES), we investigate the inclination distributions of objects in the Kuiper Belt. We present a derivation for observational bias removal and use this procedure to generate unbiased inclination distributions for Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) of different DES dynamical classes, with respect to the Kuiper Belt plane. Consistent with previous results, we find that the inclination distribution for all DES KBOs is well fit by the sum of two Gaussians, or a Gaussian plus a generalized Lorentzian, multiplied by sin i. Approximately 80% of KBOs are in the high-inclination grouping. We find that Classical object inclinations are well fit by sin i multiplied by the sum of two Gaussians, with roughly even distribution between Gaussians of widths 2.0[superscript +0.6] [subscript –0.5°] and 8.1[superscript +2.6] [subscript –2.1°]. Objects in different resonances exhibit different inclination distributions. The inclinations of Scattered objects are best matched by sin i multiplied by a single Gaussian that is centered at 19.1[superscript +3.9] [subscript –3.6°] with a width of 6.9[superscript +4.1] [subscript –2.7°]. Centaur inclinations peak just below 20°, with one exceptionally high-inclination object near 80°. The currently observed inclination distribution of the Centaurs is not dissimilar to that of the Scattered Extended KBOs and Jupiter-family comets, but is significantly different from the Classical and Resonant KBOs. While the sample sizes of some dynamical classes are still small, these results should begin to serve as a critical diagnostic for models of solar system evolution. National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant AST 07–07609) 2012-10-03T20:38:27Z 2012-10-03T20:38:27Z 2009-07 2010-06 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0004-6256 1538-3881 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73580 Gulbis, A. A. S. et al. “Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt.” The Astronomical Journal 140.2 (2010): 350–369. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9468-7477 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/140/2/350 Astronomical Journal Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ application/pdf IOP Publishing arXiv |
| spellingShingle | Gulbis, Amanda A. S. Elliot, James L. Adams, Elisabeth Rose Benecchi, Susan D. Buie, Marc W. Trilling, David E. Wasserman, L. H. Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt |
| title | Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt |
| title_full | Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt |
| title_fullStr | Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt |
| title_short | Unbiased Inclination Distributions for Objects in the Kuiper Belt |
| title_sort | unbiased inclination distributions for objects in the kuiper belt |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/73580 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9468-7477 |
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