Abstract
The Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS), a wide-field imaging
program in 2013–2017 with the Canada–France–Hawaii
Telescope, surveyed 155 deg2 of sky to depths of m r
= 24.1–25.2. We present 838 outer solar system discoveries
that are entirely free of ephemeris bias. This increases the inventory
of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with accurately known orbits by nearly
50%. Each minor planet has 20–60 Gaia/Pan-STARRS-calibrated
astrometric measurements made over 2–5 oppositions, which allows
accurate classification of their orbits within the trans-Neptunian
dynamical populations. The populations orbiting in mean-motion resonance
with Neptune are key to understanding Neptune’s early migration.
Our 313 resonant TNOs, including 132 plutinos, triple the available
characterized sample and include new occupancy of distant resonances out
to semimajor axis a ∼ 130 au. OSSOS doubles the known population of
the nonresonant Kuiper Belt, providing 436 TNOs in this region, all with
exceptionally high-quality orbits of a uncertainty σ a
≤ 0.1% they show that the belt exists from a ≳ 37 au,
with a lower perihelion bound of 35 au. We confirm the presence of a
concentrated low-inclination a ≃ 44 au “kernel”
population and a dynamically cold population extending beyond the 2:1
resonance. We finely quantify the survey’s observational biases.
Our survey simulator provides a straightforward way to impose these
biases on models of the trans-Neptunian orbit distributions, allowing
statistical comparison to the discoveries. The OSSOS TNOs, unprecedented
in their orbital precision for the size of the sample, are ideal for
testing concepts of the history of giant planet migration in the solar
system.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 18 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal Supplement |
Volume | 236 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01 May 2018 |
Keywords
- Kuiper belt: general
- surveys