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An introduction to the Kuiper Belt dynamics and collisional evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2010

T. Montmerle ,
D. Ehrenreich ,
A.-M. Lagrange  and
S. Charnoz
S. Charnoz*
Affiliation:
Équipe AIM, CEA SAp Université Paris 7, Centre de L'Orme Les Merisiers, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
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Abstract

The existence of an outer belt of small bodies in the Solar System has been inferred for long. Since the first direct observation of a Kuiper Belt Object in 1992, an intensive observational and modeling effort has been made to understand the origin and evolution of the Kuiper Belt. A wealth of information is hidden in both its dynamical structure and size distribution, that we begin to unveil thanks to a complementary approach of numerical simulation and observational surveys. We review below the main structures and physical properties of the Kuiper Belt and the implications for what concern the evolution of the Solar System, after the depletion of the Solar Nebula. The Kuiper Belt can be also considered as the post-planetary disk of the Solar System, so its study helps also to better understand debris disk observed around stars our galaxy.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Astronomical Society Publications Series , Volume 41: Physics and Astrophysics of Planetary Systems , 2010 , pp. 367 - 377
Copyright
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2010

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