# KIC 8462852: Will the Trojans return in 2021?

## TL;DR

This paper proposes a natural model involving a ringed body and Trojan objects to explain the unusual light curve of KIC 8462852, predicting Trojan transits in 2021 and 2023.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel orbital model with Trojan swarms that accounts for the star's dimming events and makes specific, testable predictions for future transits.

## Key findings

- Model explains the star's dimming with a ringed body and Trojan swarms.
- Predicts Trojan swarm transits starting in early 2021.
- Forecasts a main object transit in early 2023.

## Abstract

KIC 8462852 stood out among more than 100,000 stars in the Kepler catalogue because of the strange features of its light curve: a wide, asymmetric dimming taking up to 15 per cent of the light at D793 and a period of multiple, narrow dimmings happening approximately 700 days later. Several models have been proposed to account for this abnormal behaviour, most of which require either unlikely causes or a finely-tuned timing. We aim at offering a relatively natural solution, invoking only phenomena that have been previously observed, although perhaps in larger or more massive versions. We model the system using a large, ringed body whose transit produces the first dimming and a swarm of Trojan objects sharing its orbit that causes the second period of multiple dimmings. The resulting orbital period is $T\approx12$ years, with a semi-major axis $a\approx6$ au. Our model allows us to make two straightforward predictions: we expect the passage of a new swarm of Trojans in front of the star starting during the early months of 2021, and a new transit of the main object during the first half of 2023.