2000/11/16 by Harold F. Levison, H. F. Levison, S. A. Stern · 5 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies #Planetary Science and Exploration #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/319420
14 pages, 6 postscript figures
arxiv created 2000/11/16 · openalex publication_date 2001/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We present a new analysis of the currently available orbital elements for the known Kuiper belt objects. In the nonresonant, main Kuiper belt, we find a statistically significant relationship between an object's absolute magnitude ( H ) and its inclination ( i ). Objects with H < 6.5 (i.e., radii ≳170 km for a 4% albedo) have higher inclinations than those with H > 6.5 (radii ≲170 km). We have shown that this relationship is not caused by any obvious observational bias. We argue that the main Kuiper belt consists of the superposition of two distinct distributions. One is dynamically hot, with inclinations as large as ∼35° and absolute magnitudes as bright as 4.5; the other is dynamically cold, with i ≲ 5° and H > 6.5. The dynamically cold population is most likely dynamically primordial. We speculate on the potential causes of this relationship.