There are many circumstances (e.g. observation planning, observation interpretation, model interpretation) where having a model of the intrinsic orbital and size distributions of the Kuiper belt is highly valuable.
The Kuiper belt consists of several orbital sub-populations: the resonant TNOs, the hot and cold main classical belt, the outer/detached belt, the scattering objects, and the inner main belt. These sub-populations have two distinct size distributions: one for the cold-classical region and a size distribution for the hot sub-populations. The Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS) has assembled several well-characterized projects (collectively referred to as the OSSOS++ sample) to determine the orbital and size-distribution properties of various components of the Kuiper belt.
In this presentation, I will describe the OSSOS++ Kuiper belt model, which is the amalgamation of the various sub-components of the Kuiper belt. Models for these sub-components have already appeared in the peer-reviewed literature; here, we provide a unified view. This combined model provides a good representation of the orbital distributions and actual populations of the Kuiper belt, measured using statistical comparisons between actual observations and the forward-biased model from the OSSOS Survey Simulator. This presentation will provide the background needed to understand how the OSSOS++ model was created, and I will give some examples of how that model has been and can be used. The public release of the Kuiper belt model and OSSOS Survey Simulator will accompany this presentation.