Is There an Earth-like Planet in the Distant Kuiper Belt?
arXiv:2308.13765 · doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aceaf0
Abstract
The orbits of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) can indicate the existence of an undiscovered planet in the outer solar system. Here, we used N-body computer simulations to investigate the effects of a hypothetical Kuiper Belt planet (KBP) on the orbital structure of TNOs in the distant Kuiper Belt beyond ~50 au. We used observations to constrain model results, including the well-characterized Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS). We determined that an Earth-like planet (m ~ 1.5-3 Earth masses) located on a distant (semimajor axis a ~ 250-500 au, perihelion q ~ 200 au) and inclined (i ~ 30 deg) orbit can explain three fundamental properties of the distant Kuiper Belt: a prominent population of TNOs with orbits beyond Neptune's gravitational influence (i.e., detached objects with q > 40 au), a significant population of high-i objects (i > 45 deg), and the existence of some extreme objects with peculiar orbits (e.g., Sedna). Furthermore, the proposed KBP is compatible with the existence of identified Gyr-stable TNOs in the 2:1, 5:2, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, and 6:1 Neptunian mean motion resonances. These stable populations are often neglected in other studies. We predict the existence of an Earth-like planet and several TNOs on peculiar orbits in the outer solar system, which can serve as observationally testable signatures of the putative planet's perturbations.
arXiv commentThis is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. This Accepted Manuscript is published under a CC BY licence. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aceaf0
References in corpus (65)
- THE ORIGIN OF PLUTO'S ORBIT: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SOLAR SYSTEM BEYOND NEPTUNE
- Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System
- Dynamical Evolution of the Early Solar System
- The Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey - Full Data Release: The orbital structure of the Kuiper belt
- Discovery of a candidate inner Oort cloud planetoid
- Oort Cloud and Scattered Disc formation during a late dynamical instability in the Solar System
- Neptune's Migration into a Stirred-Up Kuiper Belt: A Detailed Comparison of Simulations to Observations
- Evidence for an extended scattered disk
- Scenarios for the Origin of the Orbits of the Trans-Neptunian Objects 2000 CR105 and 2003 VB12
- The Planet Nine Hypothesis
- The Resonant Transneptunian Populations
- Young Solar System's Fifth Giant Planet?
- The Evidence for Slow Migration of Neptune from the Inclination Distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects
- OSSOS. VII. 800+ trans-Neptunian objects - the complete data release
- Origin and Evolution of Short-Period Comets
- Neptune's Orbital Migration Was Grainy, Not Smooth
- Jumping Neptune Can Explain the Kuiper Belt Kernel
- An Outer Planet Beyond Pluto and Origin of the Trans-Neptunian Belt Architecture
- Sedna and the Oort Cloud Around a Migrating Sun
- "TNOs are Cool": A Survey of the Transneptunian Region IV. Size/albedo characterization of 15 scattered disk and detached objects observed with Herschel Space Observatory-PACS
- The Outer Solar System Origins Survey: I. Design and First-Quarter Discoveries
- Instability-Driven Dynamical Evolution Model of a Primordially 5 Planet Outer Solar System
- OSSOS VI. Striking Biases in the detection of large semimajor axis Trans-Neptunian Objects
- Extreme trans-Neptunian objects and the Kozai mechanism: signalling the presence of trans-Plutonian planets
- Resonance sticking in the scattered disk
- A carefully characterised and tracked Trans-Neptunian survey, the size-distribution of the Plutinos and the number of Neptunian Trojans
- New Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects: Towards a Super-Earth in the Outer Solar System
- Tracking Neptune's Migration History through High-Perihelion Resonant Trans-Neptunian Objects
- An Oort cloud origin for the high-inclination, high-perihelion Centaurs
- A Possible Divot in the Size Distribution of the Kuiper Belt's Scattering Objects
- OSSOS. VIII. The Transition Between Two Size Distribution Slopes in the Scattering Disk
- A Uranian Trojan and the frequency of temporary giant-planet co-orbitals
- A search of the full six years of the Dark Energy Survey for outer Solar System objects
- Discovery of A New Retrograde Trans-Neptunian Object: Hint of A Common Orbital Plane for Low Semi-Major Axis, High Inclination TNOs and Centaurs
- A New High Perihelion Inner Oort Cloud Object: 2015 TG387
- The curiously warped mean plane of the Kuiper belt
- The Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS) - High Latitude Component
- Reassessing the formation of the Inner Oort cloud in an embedded star cluster II: Probing the inner edge
- "TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region -- VII. Size and surface characteristics of (90377) Sedna and 2010 EK139
- The orbital distribution of trans-Neptunian objects beyond 50 au
- Discovery and Dynamical Analysis of an Extreme Trans-Neptunian Object with a High Orbital Inclination
- OSSOS XX: The Meaning of Kuiper Belt Colors
- OSSOS: V. Diffusion in the orbit of a high-perihelion distant Solar System object
- OSSOS II: A Sharp Transition in the Absolute Magnitude Distribution of the Kuiper Belt's Scattering Population
- OSSOS: XIII. Fossilized Resonant Dropouts Tentatively Confirm Neptune's Migration was Grainy and Slow
- Consequences of a Distant Massive Planet on the Large Semi-major Axis Trans-Neptunian Objects
- Born eccentric: constraints on Jupiter and Saturn's pre-instability orbits
- Producing Distant Planets by Mutual Scattering of Planetary Embryos
- Beyond the Kuiper Belt Edge: New High Perihelion Trans-Neptunian Objects With Moderate Semi-major Axes and Eccentricities
- Observational Signatures of a Massive Distant Planet on the Scattering Disk
- Trans-Neptunian Objects Transiently Stuck in Neptune's Mean Motion Resonances: Numerical simulations of the current population
- Not a simple relationship between Neptune's migration speed and Kuiper belt inclination excitation
- OSSOS IX: two objects in Neptune's 9:1 resonance -- implications for resonance sticking in the scattering population
- Resonant Kuiper Belt Objects -- a Review
- OSSOS XV: Probing the Distant Solar System with Observed Scattering TNOs
- A Rogue Planet Helps Populate the Distant Kuiper Belt
- The Structure of the Distant Kuiper Belt in a Nice Model Scenario
- Details of Resonant Structures Within a Nice Model Kuiper Belt: Predictions for High-Perihelion TNO Detections
- The Stability Boundary of the Distant Scattered Disk
- Dynamical formation of detached trans-Neptunian objects close to the 2:5 and 1:3 mean motion resonances with Neptune
- Limits on the number of primordial Scattered Disk objects at Pluto mass and higher from the absence of their dynamical signatures on the present day trans-Neptunian Populations
- Evidence for a possible bimodal distribution of the nodal distances of the extreme trans-Neptunian objects: avoiding a trans-Plutonian planet or just plain bias?
- Can the gravitational effect of Planet X be detected in current-era tracking of the known major and minor planets?
- A low-inclination neutral Trans-Neptunian Object in a extreme orbit
- Is the recently proposed Mars-sized perturber at ruled out by the Cassini ranging data?
Cited by in corpus (6)
- Primordial Orbital Alignment of Sednoids
- Discovery and dynamics of a Sedna-like object with a perihelion of 66 au
- Measuring the Mean Plane of the Distant Kuiper Belt
- Past the outer rim, into the unknown: structures beyond the Kuiper Cliff
- Early Stellar Flybys are Unlikely: Improved Constraints from Sednoids and Large- TNOs
- A planet or primordial black hole in the outer region of the Solar system and the dust flow near Earth orbit