Discovery and physical characterization of a large scattered disk object at 92 au

Journal Article · Sun Apr 09 20:00:00 EDT 2017 · The Astrophysical Journal. Letters (Online)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa64d8 · OSTI ID:1346353

Gerdes, D. W. ; Sako, M.; Hamilton, S.; Zhang, K. ; Khain, T.; Becker, J. C. ; Annis, J. ; Wester, W.; Bernstein, G. M.; Scheibner, C.; Zullo, L.; Adams, F. ; Bergin, E. ; Walker, A. R. ; Mueller, J. H.; Abbott, T. M. C.; Abdalla, F. B.; Allam, S.; Bechtol, K.; Benoit-Lévy, A. ; Bertin, E.; Brooks, D.; Burke, D. L.; Rosell, A. Carnero; Kind, M. Carrasco; Carretero, J.; Cunha, C. E.; Costa, L. N. da; Desai, S.; Diehl, H. T.; Eifler, T. F.; Flaugher, B.; Frieman, J.; García-Bellido, J.; Gaztanaga, E.; Goldstein, D. A. ; Gruen, D.; Gschwend, J.; Gutierrez, G.; Honscheid, K.; James, D. J.; Kent, S.; Krause, E.; Kuehn, K.; Kuropatkin, N.; Lahav, O.; Li, T. S.; Maia, M. A. G.; March, M.; Marshall, J. L. ; Martini, P.; Menanteau, F.; Miquel, R.; Nichol, R. C.; Plazas, A. A.; Romer, A. K.; Roodman, A.; Sanchez, E.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Smith, M. ; Smith, R. C.; Soares-Santos, M. ; Sobreira, F.; Suchyta, E.; Swanson, M. E. C.; Tarle, G. ; Tucker, D. L.; Zhang, Y.

We report the observation and physical characterization of the possible dwarf planet 2014 UZ$$_{224}$$ ("DeeDee"), a dynamically detached trans-Neptunian object discovered at 92 AU. This object is currently the second-most distant known trans-Neptunian object with reported orbital elements, surpassed in distance only by the dwarf planet Eris. The object was discovered with an $$r$$-band magnitude of 23.0 in data collected by the Dark Energy Survey between 2014 and 2016. Its 1140-year orbit has $$(a,e,i) = (109~\mathrm{AU},2 0.54, 26.8^{\circ})$$. It will reach its perihelion distance of 38 AU in the year 2142. Integrations of its orbit show it to be dynamically stable on Gyr timescales, with only weak interactions with Neptune. We have performed followup observations with ALMA, using 3 hours of on-source integration time to measure the object's thermal emission in the Rayleigh-Jeans tail. As a result, the signal is detected at 7$$\sigma$$ significance, from which we determine a $$V$$-band albedo of $$18.0^{+4.0}_{-2.9}\mathrm{(stat)}^{+1.5}_{-1.2}\mathrm{(sys)}$$ percent and a diameter of $$541^{+47}_{-51}\mathrm{(stat)}^{+19}_{-20}\mathrm{(sys)}$$~km, assuming a spherical body with uniform surface properties.

• Research Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC); USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
• Contributing Organization: DES; DES Collaboration
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-07CH11359; AC02-76SF00515; AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1346353
• Report Number(s): DES-2016-0198; FERMILAB-PUB-17-027-AE; arXiv:1702.00731; oai:inspirehep.net:1515437
• Journal Information: The Astrophysical Journal. Letters (Online), Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal. Letters (Online) Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 839; ISSN 2041-8213
• Publisher: Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English