SDSS observations of Kuiper belt objects

DOI

Colors of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are used to study the evolutionary processes of bodies in the outskirts of the solar system and to test theories regarding their origin. Here I describe a search for serendipitous Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) observations of known TNOs and Centaurs. I present a catalog of SDSS photometry, colors, and astrometry of 388 measurements of 42 outer solar system objects. I find weak evidence, at the {approx} 2{sigma} level (per trial), for a correlation between the g - r color and inclination of scattered disk objects and hot classical Kuiper Belt objects. I find a correlation between the g - r color and the angular momentum in the z direction of all the objects in this sample. These findings should be verified using larger samples of TNOs. Light curves as a function of phase angle are constructed for 13 objects. The steepness of the slopes of these light curves suggests that the coherent backscatter mechanism plays a major role in the reflectivity of outer solar system small objects at small phase angles. I find weak evidence for an anticorrelation, significant at the 2{sigma} confidence level (per trial), between the g-band phase-angle slope parameter and the semimajor axis, as well as the aphelion distance, of these objects (i.e., they show a more prominent "opposition effect" at smaller distances from the Sun). However, this plausible correlation should be verified using a larger sample. I discuss the origin of this possible correlation and argue that if this correlation is real it probably indicates that "Sedna"-like objects have a different origin than other classes of TNOs. Finally, I identify several objects with large variability amplitudes.

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/749/10/SDSS-obs (Astrometric and photometric measurements of the solar system objects identified in SDSS images)

Identifier
DOI http://doi.org/10.26093/cds/vizier.17490010
Source https://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/lp/custom/CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/749/10
Related Identifier https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/749/10
Related Identifier http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJ/749/10
Metadata Access http://dc.g-vo.org/rr/q/pmh/pubreg.xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_b2find&identifier=ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/749/10
Provenance
Creator Ofek E.O.
Publisher CDS
Publication Year 2013
Rights https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.html
OpenAccess true
Contact CDS support team <cds-question(at)unistra.fr>
Representation
Resource Type Dataset; AstroObjects
Discipline Astrophysics and Astronomy; Natural Sciences; Observational Astronomy; Physics; Solar System Astronomy