"Survival of Trojan-type Companions of Neptune
During Primordial Planet Migration"
The early dynamical evolution of Neptune is thought to have involved outward radial migration of up to several AU. The stability of Neptune Trojans is investigated during this migratory phase using numerical simulations involving all four giant planets in our solar system. Loss Loss of Neptune Trojans during migration is found to occur almost exclusively during discrete prolonged events associated with mean-motion resonances between Uranus and Neptune. The single greatest episode of loss comes late in the migration phase just as Uranus and Neptune are closing on their current near-resonant configuration.