Tracking Neptune's Migration History through High-Perihelion Resonant Trans-Neptunian Objects

TL;DR

This study uses numerical simulations of high-perihelion trans-Neptunian objects in resonance with Neptune to infer the planet's migration timescale and history, especially focusing on the 3:1 resonance region.

Contribution

It introduces a method to constrain Neptune's migration history by analyzing the orbital distribution of high-perihelion objects near specific resonances.

Findings

High-perihelion objects near 3:1 MMR indicate Neptune's migration completed within ~100 Myrs.

Fossilized orbits near 3:1 MMR suggest longer migration times (~300 Myrs).

Objects beyond 4:1 MMR are recently generated and dynamically active.

Abstract

Recently, Sheppard et al. (2016) presented the discovery of seven new trans-Neptunian objects with moderate eccentricities, perihelia beyond 40 AU, and semimajor axes beyond 50 AU. Like the few previously known objects on similar orbits, these objects' semimajor axes are just beyond the Kuiper belt edge and clustered around Neptunian mean motion resonances (MMRs). These objects likely obtained their observed orbits while trapped within MMRs, when the Kozai-Lidov mechanism raised their perihelia and weakened Neptune's dynamical influence. Using numerical simulations that model the production of this population, we find that high-perihelion objects near Neptunian MMRs can constrain the nature and timescale of Neptune's past orbital migration. In particular, the population near the 3:1 MMR (near 62 AU) is especially useful due to its large population and short dynamical evolution timescale. If Neptune finishes migrating within ~100 Myrs or less, we predict over 90% of high-perihelion objects near the 3:1 MMR will have semimajor axes within 1 AU of each other, very near the modern resonance's center. On the other hand, if Neptune's migration takes ~300 Myrs, we expect ~50% of this population to reside in dynamically fossilized orbits over ~1 AU closer to the Sun than the modern resonance. We highlight 2015 KH162 as a likely member of this fossilized 3:1 population. Under any plausible migration scenario, nearly all high-perihelion objects in resonances beyond the 4:1 MMR (near 76 AU) reach their orbits well after Neptune stops migrating and comprise a recently generated, dynamically active population.