Volatile evolution and atmospheres of Trans-Neptunian Objects

Abstract

At 30-50 K, the temperatures typical for surfaces in the Kuiper Belt (e.g. Stern & Trafton 2008), only seven species have sublimation pressures higher than 1 nbar (Fray & Schmitt 2009): Ne, N${}_2$, CO, Ar, O${}_2$, CH${}_4$, and Kr. Of these, N${}_2$, CO, and CH${}_4$ have been detected or inferred on the surfaces of Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). The presence of tenuous atmospheres above these volatile ices depends on the sublimation pressures, which are very sensitive to the composition, temperatures, and mixing states of the volatile ices. Therefore, the retention of volatiles on a TNO is related to its formation environment and thermal history. The surface volatiles may be transported via seasonally varying atmospheres and their condensation might be responsible for the high surface albedos of some of these bodies. The most sensitive searches for tenuous atmospheres are made by the method of stellar occultation, which have been vital for the study of the atmospheres of Triton and Pluto, and has to-date placed upper limits on the atmospheres of 11 other bodies. The recent release of the Gaia astrometric catalog has led to a "golden age" in the ability to predict TNO occultations in order to increase the observational data base.

References in corpus (13)

• A ring system detected around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo
• The size, shape, density and ring of the dwarf planet Haumea from a stellar occultation
• Detection of methane on Kuiper Belt Object (50000) Quaoar
• Visible spectroscopy of 2003 UB313: Evidence for N2 ice on the surface of the largest TNO?
• Optical Spectroscopy of the Large Kuiper Belt Objects 136472 (2005 FY9) and 136108 (2003 EL61)
• Study of the plutino object (208996) 2003 AZ84 from stellar occultations: size, shape and topographic features
• Pluto's lower atmosphere and pressure evolution from ground-based stellar occultations, 1988-2016
• New Horizons Constraints on Charon's Present Day Atmosphere
• Results from the 2014 November 15th multi-chord stellar occultation by the TNO (229762) 2007 UK${}_{126}$
• Absorption Coefficients of the Methane-Nitrogen Binary Ice System: Implications for Pluto
• Rotationally resolved spectroscopy of dwarf planet (136472) Makemake
• Digging Into the Surface of the Icy Dwarf Planet Eris
• The future of stellar occultations by distant solar system bodies: perspectives from the Gaia astrometry and the deep sky surveys

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Stellar occultations by Trans-Neptunian Objects
• The Dwarf Planet Makemake as seen by X-Shooter
• The first detection of an atmosphere on a trans-Neptunian object beyond Pluto
• Pluto's atmosphere observations with ALMA: spatially-resolved maps of CO and HCN emission and first detection of HNC
• Constraints on the Atmospheric Composition of 2002 XV${}_{93}$ from JWST Spectroscopy