Dynamical environments of (486958) Arrokoth: prior evolution and present state

Abstract

We consider dynamical environments of (486958) Arrokoth, focusing on both their present state and their long-term evolution, starting from the KBO's formation. Both analytical (based on an upgraded Kepler-map formalism) and numerical (based on massive simulations and construction of stability diagrams in the 3D setting of the problem) approaches to the problem are used. The debris removal is due to either absorption by the KBO or by leaving the Hill sphere; the interplay of these processes is considered. The clearing mechanisms are explored, and the debris removal timescales are estimated. We assess survival opportunities for any debris orbiting around Arrokoth. The generic chaotization of Arrokoth's circumbinary debris disk's inner zone and generic cloudization of the disk's periphery, which is shown to be essential in the general 3D case, naturally explains the current absence of any debris in its vicinities.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in MNRAS. 21 pages, 9 figures

References in corpus (12)

• Initial results from the New Horizons exploration of 2014 MU69, a small Kuiper Belt Object
• The Geology and Geophysics of Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth
• Rotational properties of the binary and non-binary populations in the Trans-Neptunian belt
• The Kepler map in the three-body problem
• Chaotic dynamics around cometary nuclei
• Chaotic zones around rotating small bodies
• Bi-lobed Shape of Comet 67P from a Collapsed Binary
• Dynamics around Non-Spherical Symmetric Bodies: I. The case of a spherical body with mass anomaly
• On the existence of regular and irregular outer moons orbiting the Pluto-Charon system
• Dynamical environments of MU69 and similar objects
• Probing the Hill Sphere of (486958) 2014 MU${}_{69}$: HST FGS Observations During the July 17, 2017 Stellar Occultation
• The fate of particles in the dynamical environment around Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth