2017-04-07 Exploring the 5:1 Neptune Resonance: Dynamics, Population, and Origin

Time Coordinate: 3:30 pm 7th April 2017 (Friday)

Space Coordinate: NTHU General Building II, R521

Speaker: Dr. Rosemary Pike (ASIAA)

Title: Exploring the 5:1 Neptune Resonance: Dynamics, Population, and Origin

Abstract:
The long-term evolution of objects in the outer n:1 resonances with Neptune provide clues to the evolutionary history of the Solar System. Based on 4 objects with semi-major axes near the 5:1 Neptune resonance, we estimate a substantial and previously unrecognized population of objects, perhaps more significant than the population in the 3:2 (Plutino) resonance. Understanding the characteristics and trapping history for objects in these populations is critical for constraining the dynamical history of the solar system. The 4 objects detected in the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS) were classified using dynamical integrations. Three are resonant, and the fourth appears to be a resonance diffusion object, part of a population which exited the resonance through chaotic diffusion. The dynamical behavior of the known objects, suggests that the trapping mechanism for the 5:1 resonance is resonance sticking from the scattering objects. This is consistent with the measured surface colors of the objects. However, our investigations of Solar System evolution models show that they do not emplace a sufficiently large population into this resonance, and the source of this large population remains unexplained.