CORRALLING A DISTANT PLANET WITH EXTREME RESONANT KUIPER BELT OBJECTS

Abstract

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.