A study of the high-inclination population in the Kuiper belt – IV. High-order mean-motion resonances in the classical region

Abstract

ABSTRACT In our previous study of Neptune’s 4:7 mean-motion resonance (MMR), we discovered that its resonant angle can only librate within a specific eccentricity (e) versus inclination (i) region, determined by a theoretical limiting curve. This ‘permissible region’ is independent of time and encompasses the entire possible stable region. We now generalize this theory to investigate all high-order MMRs embedded in the main classical Kuiper belt (MCKB). We first consider the second-order 3:5 MMR in the framework of planet migration and resonance capture, and have further validated our limiting curve theory for both captured and observed 3:5 resonators. It suggests that only the (e, i) pairs inside the individual permissible regions should be chosen as initial conditions for studying the in situ evolution of high-order resonators. With such a new setting, we proceed to explore the long-term stability (for 4 Gyr) of different resonant populations, and our simulations predict that (1) the 3:5 and 4:7 resonators are comparable in number, and they could have inclinations up to 40°, (2) the populations of objects in the higher order 5:9, 6:11, 7:12, and 7:13 resonances are about 1/10 of the 3:5 (or 4:7) resonator population, and nearly all of them are found on the less inclined orbits with i < 10°, and (3) for these high-order resonances, almost all resonators reside in their individual permissible regions. In summary, our results make predictions for the number and orbital distributions of potential resonant objects that will be discovered in the future throughout the MCKB.