A Dynamical Survey of the Trans-Neptunian Region. I. Mean-motion Resonances with Neptune

In this paper, we present a large-scale dynamical survey of the trans-Neptunian region, with particular attention to mean-motion resonances (MMRs). We study a set of 4121 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), a sample far larger than in previous works. We perform direct long-term numerical integrations that enable us to examine the overall dynamics of the individual TNOs as well as to identify all MMRs. For the latter purpose, we apply an own-developed FAIR method that allows the semi-automatic identification of even very high-order MMRs. Apart from searching for the more frequent eccentricity-type resonances that previous studies concentrated on, we set our method to allow the identification of inclination-type MMRs, too. Furthermore, we distinguish between TNOs that are locked in a given MMR throughout the whole integration time span (10(8) yr) and those that are only temporarily captured in resonances. For a more detailed dynamical analysis of the trans-Neptunian space, we also construct dynamical maps using test particles. Observing the fine structure of the 34-80 au region underlines the stabilizing role of the MMRs, with the regular regions coinciding with the positions of real TNOs.