Resonant Contact Binaries in the Trans-Neptunian Belt

由洛厄尔天文台进行的这个项目是检查海王星外天体（TNOs），这些天体是绕太阳运行的矮行星，平均距离大于海王星。最著名的也是第一个被发现的TNO是冥王星。TNO是太阳系形成的残余物。通过研究它们，可以限制有关早期太阳系的关键信息，进而限制系外行星系统的历史。随着数千颗系外行星的发现和表征以及它们周围的跨海王星带，系外行星科学的快速发展，更好地了解当地小天体种群的需求正在增长。该项目是对接触双星TNO的综合研究，TNO是由两个相连的裂片组成的天体。该项目的目的是了解他们的形成，历史和人口。所收集的数据有望成为迄今为止获得的接触二元性质的最大综合样本。结果将帮助我们更好地解释接触二进制Arrokoth的属性，由美国宇航局的新视野使命访问。该项目的更广泛影响包括参加洛厄尔天文台主办的“会见天文学家”之夜和其他公开讲座。本研究亦将招募一位大学生参与，透过光变曲线与颜色的研究，来探讨共振型TNO。通过研究共振TNO，这些物体的旋转和物理性质将被确定，同时也探测接触二进制人口。这将允许形状、周期和颜色分布针对每个测试的共振被约束。总之，这些努力将有助于更好地了解跨海王星带和接触双星，以及它们的形成，这对了解Arrokoth至关重要。将这项研究的结果与新视野号航天器第二次飞越的结果进行比较，将使人们能够深入了解接触双星、行星形成，进而了解系外行星系统和盘。该项目对天文学的各个领域具有广泛的意义，包括小天体研究和太阳系的形成和演化。了解接触双星如何形成以及形成过程的效率将有助于了解早期太阳系和行星的形成，而行星是行星的基石。对太阳系的进一步了解也将有助于与太阳系外行星系统和原行星盘进行更有意义的比较。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project carried out by Lowell Observatory is to examine Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), which are dwarf planets that orbit the Sun at average distances greater than Neptune. The most famous and the first TNO to be discovered, is Pluto. TNOs are the leftovers of Solar System formation. By studying them, key information about the early Solar System and, by extension, the history of exoplanet systems can be constrained. With exoplanet science growing fast with the discovery and characterization of thousands of exoplanets, and trans-Neptunian-like belts around them, the need to better understand local small body populations for context is growing. This project is a comprehensive study of contact binary TNOs, which are bodies consisting of two connected lobes. The aim of the project is to understand their formation, history, and population. The data to be collected promises to be the largest comprehensive sample of contact binary properties yet obtained. The results will help us better interpret the properties of the contact binary Arrokoth, visited by NASA’s New Horizons mission. The Broader Impacts of this project include participation in “Meet an Astronomer” Nights and other public talks hosted by Lowell Observatory. An undergraduate student will also be recruited to participate in the research.The observations in this project will be used to examine the resonant TNOs through lightcurve and color studies. By studying resonant TNOs, rotational and physical properties of these objects will be ascertained while also probing the contact binary population. This will allow the shape, period, and color distributions to be constrained for each tested resonance. Together, these efforts will contribute to an improved understanding of the trans-Neptunian belt and contact binaries, as well as their formation which is critical to understand Arrokoth. A comparison of the results from this study with the results from the second flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft will allow an in-depth understanding of the contact binaries, planet formation, and by extension, exo-planetary systems and disks. The project has wide-ranging significance for various areas of astronomy including small body research and Solar System formation and evolution. Understanding how contact binaries form and how efficient the process of formation is will provide insights into the very early solar system and the formation of planetesimals, which are the building blocks of the planets. An improved understanding of our Solar System will also facilitate more meaningful comparisons to extra-solar planetary systems and protoplanetary disks.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.