W. C. Fraser, M. E. Brown
We present the first results of the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 Test of
Surfaces in the Outer Solar System (H/WTSOSS). The purpose of this survey was
to measure the surface properties of a large number of Kuiper belt objects and
attempt to infer compositional and dynamical correlations. We find that the
Centaurs and the low-perihelion scattered disk and resonant objects exhibit
virtually identical bifurcated optical colour distributions and make up two
well defined groups of object. Both groups have highly correlated optical and
NIR colours which are well described by a pair of two component mixture models
that have different red components, but share a common neutral component. The
small, $H_{606}\gtrsim5.6$ high-perihelion excited objects are entirely
consistent with being drawn from the two branches of the mixing model
suggesting that the colour bifurcation of the Centaurs is apparent in all small
excited objects. On the other hand, objects larger than $H_{606}\sim5.6$ are
not consistent with the mixing model, suggesting some evolutionary process
avoided by the smaller objects. The existence of a bifurcation amongst all
excited populations argues that the two separate classes of object existed in
the primordial disk before the excited Kuiper belt was populated. The cold
classical objects exhibit a different type of surface which has colours that
are consistent with being drawn from the red branch of the mixing model, but
with much higher albedos.
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.0827
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