Constraining the Origin and Dynamical Evolution of Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects through NIR Spectroscopy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration James Webb Space Telescope General Observer Program-Cycle 3
Subaward to PSI from Space Telescope Science Institute
PI: Bryan Jason Holler (Space Telescope Science Institute)
Non PSI Personnel: Leslie A. Young (Co-Investigator, Southwest Research Institute), Ana Carolina de Souza Feliciano (Co-Investigator, University of Central Florida), Ian Wong (Co-Investigator, Space Telescope Science Institute), Joshua P Emery (Co-Investigator, Northern Arizona University), Richard Cartwright (Co-Investigator, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory), Silvia Protopapa (Co-Investigator, Southwest Research Institute), Jason Campbell Cook (Co-Investigator, Pinhead Institute), John A. Stansberry (Co-Investigator, Space Telescope Science Institute), Noemi Pinilla-Alonso (Co-Investigator, Institute of Space Sciences and Technologies), Rosario Brunetto (Co-Investigator, Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale), Simone Ieva (Co-Investigator, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma)
Project Description
We propose to obtain low-resolving power (R~100) near-infrared spectra of 6 extreme trans-Neptunian Objects (ETNOs) using the NIRSpec IFU and the Prism/CLEAR combination to constrain ETNO origins. The ETNOs are a unique and understudied population of trans-Neptunian objects with large perihelia (> 37 au) and semi-major axes (> 150 au) that could not have been placed on their current orbits via Neptune on its current orbit. The majority of the members of this population were only discovered within the past 10 years due to their faintness and no observations of ETNOs were approved in Cycle 1 or 2, representing a large gap in our understanding of the trans-Neptunian region. In this investigation, we will compare the spectra of the 6 ETNO targets to each other to determine if the population is compositionally heterogeneous and therefore formed in different regions of the solar nebula. We will also compare the ETNOs to objects in other TNO sub-populations to constrain their possible origins. The excellent sensitivity of JWST will provide us with an unparalleled opportunity to study these extreme and poorly understood objects as a stepping stone to addressing larger questions about the era of planetary migration, the possible presence of a distant outer planet, and the structure and formation of debris disks around other stars.
