Inclination Excitation by Resonance Sweeping of the Kuiper Belt
R. Malhotra (LPI)
The highly non-uniform orbital distribution of the observed
Kuiper Belt objects -- many objects locked in orbital resonances
with Neptune, with a broad distribution of orbital eccentricities
-- is suggestive of resonance sweeping of the Kuiper Belt
by Neptune in the early history of the planetary system.
The inclinations of Kuiper Belt objects also have a surprisingly
broad distribution. There are at least three distinct inclination
excitation mechanisms that operate on Kuiper Belt objects:
the 
secular resonance, the Kozai mechanism, and
inclination-type mean motion resonances. We present results of
mathematical analysis and computer modeling of these dynamical
mechanisms. For some choices of initial conditions and parameters,
large inclinations can be excited as a consequence of resonance
sweeping. We discuss the constraints on resonance sweeping models
provided by a comparison of theoretical results with the observed
inclination distribution.