Dynamical determination of the Kuiper Belt's mass from motions of the inner planets of the Solar System

Abstract

In this paper we dynamically determine the mass of the Kuiper Belt Objects by exploiting the latest observational determinations of the orbital motions of the inner planets of the Solar System. Our result, in units of terrestrial masses, is 0.033 +/- 0.115 by modelling the Classical Kuiper Belt Objects as an ecliptic ring of finite thickness. A two-rings model yields for the Resonant Kuiper Belt Objects a value of 0.018 +/- 0.063. Such figures are consistent with recent determinations obtained with ground and space-based optical techniques. Some implications for precise tests of Einsteinian and post-Einsteinian gravity are briefly discussed.

arXiv commentLaTex, 12 pages, no figures, 4 tables, 27 references. One reference added. To appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Cited by in corpus (13)

• Phenomenology of the Lense-Thirring effect in the Solar System
• The Pioneer Anomaly
• Kuiper Belts Around Nearby Stars
• On the recently determined anomalous perihelion precession of Saturn
• A new inclination instability reshapes Keplerian disks into cones: application to the outer Solar System
• Constraints on the range lambda of Yukawa-like modifications to the Newtonian inverse-square law of gravitation from Solar System planetary motions
• Astronomical constraints on some long-range models of modified gravity
• Testing long-distance modifications of gravity to 100 astronomical units
• Orbital perturbations due to massive rings
• Astrometry and Occultation predictions to Trans-Neptunian and Centaur Objects observed within the Dark Energy Survey
• Advances in the measurement of the Lense-Thirring effect with planetary motions in the field of the Sun
• The impact of the Kuiper Belt Objects and of the asteroid ring on future high-precision relativistic Solar System tests
• The Variable-c Cosmology as a Solution to Pioneer Anomaly