Dynamical formation of detached trans-Neptunian objects close to the 2:5 and 1:3 mean motion resonances with Neptune

TL;DR

This paper investigates how detached trans-Neptunian objects form near the 2:5 and 1:3 mean motion resonances with Neptune through a combination of semi-analytic and numerical methods, highlighting the role of the hibernating resonance mode.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of the hibernating mode in resonances and demonstrates its significance in fossilizing detached objects near Neptune's resonances using combined semi-analytic and numerical approaches.

Findings

Fossilized detached objects form near 2:5 and 1:3 resonances.

The ratio of moderate to high perihelion fossilized objects is approximately 3:1 and 1.7:1 respectively.

Total mass of the fossilized populations is estimated between 0.1 and 0.3 Pluto masses.

Abstract

Through a semi-analytic approach of the Kozai resonance inside an MMR, we show phase diagrams (e,{\omega}) that suggest the possibility of a scattered particle, after being captured in an MMR with Neptune, to become a detached object. We ran several numerical integrations with thousands of particles perturbed by the four major planets, and there are cases with and without Neptune's residual migration. These were developed to check the semi-analytic approach and to better understand the dynamical mechanisms that produce the detached objects close to an MMR. The numerical simulations with and without a residual migration for Neptune stress the importance of a particular resonance mode, which we name the hibernating mode, on the formation of fossilized detached objects close to MMRs. When considering Neptune's residual migration we are able to show the formation of detached orbits. These objects are fossilized and cannot be trapped in the MMRs again. We find a ratio of the number of fossilized objects with moderate perihelion distance (35 < q < 40 au) to the number of objects with high perihelion distance (q > 40 au) as 3.0/1 for objects close to the 2:5, and 1.7/1 for objects close to the 1:3 resonance. We estimate that the two fossilized population have a total mass between 0.1 and 0.3 Pluto's mass.