Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1772047 Chinese Astronomy and Astrophysics 2009 6 Pages PDF
Abstract

Using the N-body dynamical model that includes the sun, the 8 planets, Pluto, UB313 and massless particles, we simulate the orbital evolution of 551 Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) with known parameters. The initial conditions of the simulations are the currently observed orbital parameters. The integration backtracks from now to -10×108 yr. The results show that about 10×108 years ago, more than 1/3 of the presently observed KBOs resided in the region of the present Kuiper main belt, a few were located inside the Neptune orbit, and the rest were beyond 50AU; and that about 4.5×108 years ago, all the objects in the Kuiper main belt exhibited a rather good normal distribution, without so many objects concentrated in the Neptune's 3:2 resonance region, as at present time.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Physics and Astronomy Astronomy and Astrophysics