TNO Absolute Magnitude Distributions for H=7-10
Session 14.03 Size Distributions
Friday 06-28 | 15:10 - 15:30

The TNO absolute magnitude distribution is tied to the size distribution (with variations possible depending on albedo and density). In the cold classical Kuiper Belt, it seems likely that this distribution is unevolved and preserves the planet formation epoch's size distribution, while the hot population is different in that it built objects all the way up to dwarf planet scale. The OSSOS survey presented precise and absolutely calibrated H magnitude distributions for the hot and cold populations down to about H=8.5. We present our progress on an analysis of the CLASSY survey's exploration of the H magnitude distribution, which pushes deeper than OSSOS and explores the H=7–10 range by using deep imaging stacks on CFHT to push down to apparent magnitudes of ~26.5. We have linked detections across several-month arcs in order to obtain heliocentric distances accurate to ~1%, thus confining the absolute magnitude uncertainty to the photometric precision and allowing us to obtain enough orbital information to calculate accurate free orbital inclinations. We are thus able to separate the hot and cold populations in this sample and will determine if the two populations continue to follow exponential taper functional forms for fainter (smaller) objects as found by published OSSOS++ analyses. This H magnitude range will provide a critical bridge to even fainter studies (eg. JWST) of the magnitude distribution.

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