Production, Transport, and Destruction of Dust in the Kuiper Belt: The Effects of Refractory and Volatile Grain Compositions
The Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (SDC) on board the New Horizons spacecraft measures the spatial and size distributions of dust along its trajectory. Models based on early SDC measurements predicted a peak dust number density at a heliocentric distance of ∼40 au, followed by a rapid decline....
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adab75 |
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| author | Thomas Corbett Alex Doner Mihály Horányi Pontus Brandt Will Grundy Carey M. Lisse Joel Parker Lowell Peltier Andrew R. Poppe Kelsi N. Singer S. Alan Stern Anne J. Verbiscer |
| author_facet | Thomas Corbett Alex Doner Mihály Horányi Pontus Brandt Will Grundy Carey M. Lisse Joel Parker Lowell Peltier Andrew R. Poppe Kelsi N. Singer S. Alan Stern Anne J. Verbiscer |
| author_sort | Thomas Corbett |
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| description | The Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (SDC) on board the New Horizons spacecraft measures the spatial and size distributions of dust along its trajectory. Models based on early SDC measurements predicted a peak dust number density at a heliocentric distance of ∼40 au, followed by a rapid decline. Instead, SDC observed dust fluxes 2–3 times higher than predicted between 40 and 60 au. One potential explanation for this discrepancy is that SDC may be encountering icy grains with different dynamical behavior than previously modeled silicate grains. Due to ultraviolet photosputtering, water–ice grains rapidly erode and migrate outward, significantly contributing to the measured dust number densities only at distances ≳40 au. We present a model of silicate and ice grain dynamics in the outer solar system, considering gravitational and radiation forces and grain erosion. Using SDC data, we estimate that the mass production rate of ice grains between 0.1 and 10 μ m in the Kuiper Belt (KB) would need to be 20–70 times higher than that of silicate grains. However, KB grains are expected to be refractory/volatile mixtures rather than pure silicate or ice. Thus, we briefly explore simple models of more realistic mixed-grain cases to further gauge the effects of grain composition on the equilibrium dust distribution. Future SDC measurements at greater distances will test the model predictions and further constrain silicate and ice grain production rates in the KB. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ce96a1778a5643c49fa819854972c12b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-ce96a1778a5643c49fa819854972c12b2025-01-30T18:15:10ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019792L5010.3847/2041-8213/adab75Production, Transport, and Destruction of Dust in the Kuiper Belt: The Effects of Refractory and Volatile Grain CompositionsThomas Corbett0https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3314-2870Alex Doner1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7065-3224Mihály Horányi2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5920-9226Pontus Brandt3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4644-0306Will Grundy4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8296-6540Carey M. Lisse5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9548-1526Joel Parker6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3672-0603Lowell Peltier7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9179-8323Andrew R. Poppe8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8137-8176Kelsi N. Singer9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3045-8445S. Alan Stern10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5018-7537Anne J. Verbiscer11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3323-9304Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO, USA ; Thomas.Corbett@lasp.colorado.edu; Department of Physics, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO, USALaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO, USA ; Thomas.Corbett@lasp.colorado.edu; Department of Physics, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO, USALaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO, USA ; Thomas.Corbett@lasp.colorado.edu; Department of Physics, University of Colorado , Boulder, CO, USAThe Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , Laurel, MD, USALowell Observatory , Flagstaff, AZ, USAThe Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , Laurel, MD, USASouthwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO, USANational Research Council of Canada , Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre, Victoria, BC, Canada; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria , Victoria, BC, CanadaSpace Sciences Laboratory, University of California , Berkeley, CA, USASouthwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO, USASouthwest Research Institute , Boulder, CO, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA, USAThe Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter (SDC) on board the New Horizons spacecraft measures the spatial and size distributions of dust along its trajectory. Models based on early SDC measurements predicted a peak dust number density at a heliocentric distance of ∼40 au, followed by a rapid decline. Instead, SDC observed dust fluxes 2–3 times higher than predicted between 40 and 60 au. One potential explanation for this discrepancy is that SDC may be encountering icy grains with different dynamical behavior than previously modeled silicate grains. Due to ultraviolet photosputtering, water–ice grains rapidly erode and migrate outward, significantly contributing to the measured dust number densities only at distances ≳40 au. We present a model of silicate and ice grain dynamics in the outer solar system, considering gravitational and radiation forces and grain erosion. Using SDC data, we estimate that the mass production rate of ice grains between 0.1 and 10 μ m in the Kuiper Belt (KB) would need to be 20–70 times higher than that of silicate grains. However, KB grains are expected to be refractory/volatile mixtures rather than pure silicate or ice. Thus, we briefly explore simple models of more realistic mixed-grain cases to further gauge the effects of grain composition on the equilibrium dust distribution. Future SDC measurements at greater distances will test the model predictions and further constrain silicate and ice grain production rates in the KB.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adab75Interplanetary dustAstrophysical dust processes |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Corbett Alex Doner Mihály Horányi Pontus Brandt Will Grundy Carey M. Lisse Joel Parker Lowell Peltier Andrew R. Poppe Kelsi N. Singer S. Alan Stern Anne J. Verbiscer Production, Transport, and Destruction of Dust in the Kuiper Belt: The Effects of Refractory and Volatile Grain Compositions The Astrophysical Journal Letters Interplanetary dust Astrophysical dust processes |
| title | Production, Transport, and Destruction of Dust in the Kuiper Belt: The Effects of Refractory and Volatile Grain Compositions |
| title_full | Production, Transport, and Destruction of Dust in the Kuiper Belt: The Effects of Refractory and Volatile Grain Compositions |
| title_fullStr | Production, Transport, and Destruction of Dust in the Kuiper Belt: The Effects of Refractory and Volatile Grain Compositions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Production, Transport, and Destruction of Dust in the Kuiper Belt: The Effects of Refractory and Volatile Grain Compositions |
| title_short | Production, Transport, and Destruction of Dust in the Kuiper Belt: The Effects of Refractory and Volatile Grain Compositions |
| title_sort | production transport and destruction of dust in the kuiper belt the effects of refractory and volatile grain compositions |
| topic | Interplanetary dust Astrophysical dust processes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adab75 |
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