2001 QR322: a dynamically unstable Neptune Trojan?

TL;DR

This study uses detailed dynamical simulations to show that the Neptune Trojan 2001 QR322 is likely dynamically unstable over Gyr timescales, challenging previous assumptions of its primordial stability.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive dynamical analysis of 2001 QR322 with improved orbital data, revealing its instability and implications for Neptune Trojan populations.

Findings

Most clones of 2001 QR322 are dynamically unstable with decay half-lives around 550-590 Myr.

Stability depends on initial semi-major axis, with larger values leading to less stability.

If primordial, 2001 QR322 suggests a larger original Neptune Trojan population and a link to unstable objects like Centaurs.

Abstract

Since early work on the stability of the first Neptunian Trojan, 2001 QR322, suggested that it was a dynamically stable, primordial body, it has been assumed this applies to both that object, and its more recently discovered brethren. However, it seems that things are no longer so clear cut. In this work, we present the results of detailed dynamical simulations of the orbital behaviour of 2001 QR322. Using an ephemeris for the object that has significantly improved since earlier works, we follow the evolution of 19683 test particles, placed on orbits within the observational error ellipse of 2001 QR322's orbit, for a period of 1 Gyr. We find that majority of these "clones" of 2001 QR322 are dynamically unstable, exhibiting a near-exponential decay from both the Neptunian Trojan cloud (decay halflife ~550 Myr) and the Solar system (decay halflife ~590 Myr). The stability of the object within Neptune's Trojan cloud is found to be strongly dependent on the initial semi-major axis used, with those objects located at semimajor axis equal or greater than 30.30 AU being significantly less stable than those interior to this value, as a result of their having initial libration amplitudes very close to a critical threshold dividing regular and irregular motion, located at ~70-75 deg (full extent of angular motion). This result suggests that, if 2001 QR322 is a primordial Neptunian Trojan, it must be a representative of a population that was once significantly larger than that we see today, and adds weight to the idea that the Neptune Trojans may represent a significant source of objects moving on unstable orbits between the giant planets (the Centaurs).