Detection of Additional Members of the 2003 EL61 Family via Infrared Spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study used infrared spectroscopy to identify new members of the 2003 EL61 collisional family in the Kuiper belt, confirming some objects share characteristic water ice features, thus expanding understanding of this family’s formation.

Contribution

It provides the first infrared spectral confirmation of additional collisional family members, enhancing knowledge of their composition and origin.

Findings

2003 UZ117 and 2005 CB79 show water ice features similar to known family members.

2004 SB60 lacks significant water ice features, suggesting it is not a family member.

The discovery impacts theories on the formation and evolution of the 2003 EL61 family.

Abstract

We have acquired near-infrared spectra of Kuiper belt objects 2003 UZ117, 2005 CB79 and 2004 SB60 with NIRC on the Keck I Telescope. These objects are dynamically close to the core of the 2003 EL61 collisional family and were suggested to be potential fragments of this collision by Ragozzine and Brown (2007). We find that the spectra of 2003 UZ117 and 2005 CB79 both show the characteristic strong water ice absorption features seen exclusively on 2003 EL61, its largest satellite, and the six other known collisional fragments. In contrast, we find that the near infrared spectrum of 2004 SB60 is essentially featureless with a fraction of water ice of less than 5%. We discuss the implications of the discovery of these additional family members for understanding the formation and evolution of this collisional family in the outer solar system.