CORRALLING A DISTANT PLANET WITH EXTREME RESONANT KUIPER BELT OBJECTS
Open accessAbstract
The four longest period Kuiper Belt objects have orbital periods close to integer ratios with each other. A hypothetical planet with an orbital period of ∼17,117 years and a semimajor axis ∼665 au would have N/1 and N/2 period ratios with these four objects. The orbital geometries and dynamics of resonant orbits constrain the orbital plane, the orbital eccentricity, and the mass of such a planet as well as its current location in its orbital path.
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No useful constraint on the orbit or position can be drawn from the Malhotra et al. (2016) method.
“Thus, it appears that no useful constraint on the orbit or position can be drawn from this method.”
From Observational constraints on the orbit and location of Planet Nine in the outer solar system (2016) · cites this paper as Malhotra et al. (2016)
Section 2.1 concludes that a possible planet orbit plane has an inclination near 48° and longitude of ascending node near −5°. Section 2.3 also estimates that approximately half of the ecliptic longitudes are excluded for the planet’s current location. These are conditional constraints, but they contradict the claim that the method yields no useful constraint on orbit or position. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measured4 out of 6 objects known at the time lie close to N:1 and N:2 orbital period ratios with a putative perturber.
“note that 4 out of 6 objects known at the time lie close to N:1 and N:2 orbital period ratios with a putative perturber.”
From The planet nine hypothesis (2019) · cites this paper as Malhotra et al. (2016)
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Cites
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Batygin, K., & Brown, M. E. (2016) · The Astronomical Journal · doi:10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22 · Cited by 432 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Fienga et al. (2016) provide an analysis of Cassini tracking data, arguing that for the favored planet parameters of Batygin & Brown (2016), the residuals in the orbital motion of Saturn are reduced with the existence of such a planet at current true longitude near 120°; however, their analysis…”
BackgroundMethodA Sedna-like body with a perihelion of 80 astronomical units
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Orbit Fitting and Uncertainties for Kuiper Belt Objects
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Constraints on the location of a possible 9th planet derived from the<i>Cassini</i>data
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Research works printed but not linked: 1
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Batygin, K., Adams, F. C., Brown, M. E., & Becker, J. C. (2019) · Physics Reports · doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2019.01.009 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
“Beyond purely theoretical considerations, the potential prevalence of P9 resonances in the distant belt inspired Malhotra et al. (2016) to examine the numerological relationships between the orbital periods of observed KBOs, and note that 4 out of 6 objects known at the time lie close to N:1 and…”
BackgroundObservational constraints on the orbit and location of Planet Nine in the outer solar system
Brown, M. E., & Batygin, K. (2016) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8205/824/2/l23 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
“A recent paper (Malhotra et al. 2016) makes no attempt to explain spatial alignments, but instead attempts to simplistically look for mean-motion commensurabilities in the distant KBOs, in hopes of being able to constrain both a9 and the location of Planet Nine within its orbit.”
BackgroundNew Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects: Toward a Super-Earth in the Outer Solar System
Sheppard, S. S., & Trujillo, C. (2016) · The Astronomical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-3881/152/6/221 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
OSSOS. VI. Striking Biases in the Detection of Large Semimajor Axis Trans-Neptunian Objects
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Consequences of a Distant Massive Planet on the Large Semimajor Axis Trans-Neptunian Objects
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THE HUNT FOR PLANET NINE: ATMOSPHERE, SPECTRA, EVOLUTION, AND DETECTABILITY
Fortney, J. J., Marley, M. S., Laughlin, G., Nettelmann, N., Morley, C. V., Lupu, R. E., Visscher, C., Jeremic, P., Khadder, W. G., & Hargrave, M. (2016) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8205/824/2/l25 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
- Authors
- Malhotra, R., Volk, K., & Wang, X.
- Affiliations
- University of Arizona (US)
- Corresponding author
- Malhotra, Renu
- Venue
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Publisher
- American Astronomical Society
- Published
- 2016-06-15
- Volume
- 824
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- L22
- ISSN
- 2041-8205 (ISSN-L)
- 2041-8213
- OpenAlex
- W2294745121
- Cited by
- 60
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 15
- FWCI
- 7.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters (publishedVersion)
- UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › Space Satellite Systems and Control
- Keywords
- Planet Nine, Kuiper belt objects, orbital resonance, period ratio, orbital plane, orbital eccentricity, planetary mass, orbital dynamics, trans-Neptunian objects
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