4.6 Article

Dynamical evolution of a self-gravitating planetesimal disk in the distant trans-Neptunian region

Journal

ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
Volume 662, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

EDP SCIENCES S A
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202243324

Keywords

Kuiper belt; general; celestial mechanics

Funding

  1. Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation [075-15-2020-780 (N13.1902.21.0039)]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

We study the dynamical evolution of a system consisting of giant planets and a massive planetesimal disk. Our simulations show that the combined action of planetary perturbations and the self-gravity of the disk can produce distant trans-Neptunian objects, with the long-period resonances between planetesimals playing a major role. The distribution of inclinations in our model is similar to the observed distribution for distant trans-Neptunian objects.
Aims. We study the dynamical evolution of a system consisting of the giant planets and a massive planetesimal disk over the age of the Solar System. The main question addressed in this study is whether distant trans-Neptunian objects could have come about as a result of the combined action of planetary perturbations and the self-gravity of the disk. Methods. We carried out a series of full N-body numerical simulations of gravitational interactions between the giant planets and a massive outer disk of planetesimals. Results. Our simulations show that the collective gravity of the giant planets and massive planetesimals produces distant trans-Neptunian objects across a wide range of the initial disk mass. The majority of objects that survive up through the age of the Solar System have perihelion distances of q > 40 au. In this region, there is a tendency toward a slow decrease in eccentricities and an increase in perihelion distances for objects with semimajor axes a > 150 au. Secular resonances between distant planetesimals play a major role in increasing their perihelion distances. This explains the origin of Sedna-type objects. In our integrations for the age of the Solar System, we registered times with both high and low clustering of longitudes of perihelion and arguments of perihelion for objects with q > 40 au, a > 150 au. The resulting distribution of inclinations in our model and the observed distribution of inclinations for distant trans-Neptunian objects have similar average values of around 20 degrees. Conclusions. Distant trans-Neptunian objects are a natural consequence in the models that include migrating giant planets and a self-gravitating planetesimal disk.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.6
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available