The dynamical stability of a Kuiper Belt-like region

Kuiper Belt evolution due to dynamical friction

In this paper we study the role of dynamical friction on the evolution of a population of large objects (m > 10 g) at heliocentric distances > 70 AU in the Kuiper Belt. We show that the already flat distribution of these objects must flatten further due to nonspherically symmetric distribution of matter in the Kuiper Belt. Moreover the dynamical drag, produced by dynamical friction, causes obje...

The Kuiper Belt

Kepler and the Kuiper Belt

The proposed field-of-view of the Kepler mission is at an ecliptic latitude of ∼ 55, where the surface density of scattered Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) is a few percent that in the ecliptic plane. The rate of occultations of Kepler target stars by scattered KBOs with radii r & 10 km is ∼ 10 − 10 star yr, where the uncertainty reflects the current ignorance of the thickness of the scattered KBO d...

The Radial Distribution of the Kuiper Belt

We examine the radial distribution of the Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) using a method that is insensitive to observational bias effects. This technique allows the use of the discovery distances of all KBOs, independent of orbital classification or discovery circumstance. We verify the presence of an outer edge to the Kuiper Belt, as reported in other works, and we measure this edge to be at given...

Formation of Kuiper Belt Binaries

The discovery that a substantial fraction of Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) exists in binaries with wide separations and roughly equal masses, has motivated a variety of new theories explaining their formation. Goldreich et al. (2002) proposed two formation scenarios: In the first, a transient binary is formed, which becomes bound with the aid of dynamical friction from the sea of small bodies (Ls ...