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arXiv:0802.3913

Title: The Scattered Disk as the source of the Jupiter Family comets

Authors: Kathryn Volk, Renu Malhotra (Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona)

(Submitted on 26 Feb 2008 (v1), last revised 11 Jul 2008 (this version, v2))

Abstract: The short period Jupiter family comets (JFCs) are thought to originate in the Kuiper Belt; specifically, a dynamical subclass of the Kuiper Belt known as the `scattered disk' is argued to be the dominant source of JFCs. However, the best estimates from observational surveys indicate that this source may fall short by more than two orders of magnitude the estimates obtained from theoretical models of the dynamical evolution of Kuiper belt objects into JFCs. We re-examine the scattered disk as a source of the JFCs and make a rigorous estimate of the discrepancy. We find that the uncertainties in the dynamical models combined with a change in the size distribution function of the scattered disk at faint magnitudes (small sizes) beyond the current observational limit offer a possible but problematic resolution to the discrepancy. We discuss several other possibilities: that the present population of JFCs is a large fluctuation above their long term average, that larger scattered disk objects tidally break-up into multiple fragments during close planetary encounters as their orbits evolve from the trans-Neptune zone to near Jupiter, or that there are alternative source populations that contribute significantly to the JFCs. Well-characterized observational investigations of the Centaurs, objects that are transitioning between the trans-Neptune Kuiper belt region and the inner solar system, can test the predictions of the non-steady state and the tidal break-up hypotheses. The classical and resonant classes of the Kuiper belt are worth re-consideration as significant additional or alternate sources of the JFCs.

Comments: 33 pages, 6 figures. Revised Content. To be published in The Astrophysical Journal
Subjects: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:0802.3913v2 [astro-ph]

Submission history
From: Kathryn Volk [view email]
[v1] Tue, 26 Feb 2008 21:30:44 GMT (33kb)
[v2] Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:39:44 GMT (36kb)

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Comet/Asteroid Impacts and Human Society ed by Peter T. Bobrowsky and Hans Rickman intro (PDF) due to links here

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Comet focussing has been suggested as evidence of a large, undiscovered outer planet.

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http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1972IAUS...45..413V

Title: The Origin and Evolution of the Comets and Other Small Bodies in the Solar System

Authors: Vsekhsvyatskij, S. K.

Journal: The Motion, Evolution of Orbits, and Origin of Comets; Proceedings from IAU Symposium no. 45, held in Leningrad, U.S.S.R., August 4-11, 1970. Edited by Gleb Aleksandrovich Chebotarev, E. I. Kazimirchak-Polonskaia, and B. G. Marsden. International Astronomical Union Symposium no. 45, Dordrecht, Reidel, p.413

Bibliographic Code: 1972IAUS...45..413V

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