The Evidence for Slow Migration of Neptune from the Inclination Distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects

TL;DR

This study uses numerical simulations to show that slow Neptune migration (over at least 10 million years) better explains the observed inclination distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects, supporting gradual planetary migration models.

Contribution

It demonstrates that slow Neptune migration (tau >= 10 Myr) is necessary to match the inclination distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects, refining planetary migration theories.

Findings

Neptune's slow migration (tau >= 10 Myr) aligns with observed inclination distributions.

Models with rapid migration (tau < 10 Myr) fail to reproduce the inclination spread.

Neptune's eccentricity and inclination remain low in these models, consistent with observations.

Abstract

Much of the dynamical structure of the Kuiper belt can be explained if Neptune migrated over several AU, and/or if Neptune was scattered to an eccentric orbit during planetary instability. An outstanding problem with the existing formation models is that the distribution of orbital inclinations they predicted is narrower than the one inferred from observations. Here we perform numerical simulations of Kuiper belt formation starting from an initial state with Neptune at 20 < a_{N,0} < 30 AU and a dynamically cold outer disk extending from beyond a_{N,0} to 30 AU. Neptune's orbit is migrated into the disk on an e-folding timescale 1 <= tau <= 100 Myr. A small fraction (~10^{-3}) of the disk planetesimals become implanted into the Kuiper belt in the simulations. By analyzing the orbital distribution of the implanted bodies in different cases we find that the inclination constraint implies that tau >= 10 Myr and a_{N,0} <= 25 AU. The models with tau < 10 Myr do not satisfy the inclination constraint, because there is not enough time for various dynamical processes to raise inclinations. The slow migration of Neptune is consistent with other Kuiper belt constraints, and with recently developed models of planetary instability/migration. Neptune's eccentricity and inclination are never large in these models (e_N<0.1, i_N<2 deg), as required to avoid excessive orbital excitation in the >40 AU region, where the Cold Classicals presumably formed.