Binary-binary close encounters in the Kuiper Belt

LOPEZ, C. BRUNINI, A.

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2020 vol. 505 p. 236 - 244

0035-8711

Trans-Neptunian binaries are among the objects carrying the most relevant information on theconditions that prevailed in the primitive outer solar system. However, their present orbital archi-tecture not necessarily reects those conditions, because it is the result of complex evolutionary pro-cesses. There is evidence suggesting that binary systems dominated the primitive trans-Neptunianpopulations. Therefore, binary-binary interactions could be an important evolutionary path. In thispaper, a series of numerical experiments of binary-binary close encounters were carried out, varyingspecic parameters related to their physical and orbital characteristics. The relative speeds withwhich the encounters occur play an important role in the relative variation of orbital elements,showing a good agreement with impulsive appoximation models involving a binary and a singleintruder. However, simulations varying the mass, semi-major axis and, closest approach distancebetween pairs of binaries, showed marked deviations from this model.