Impact Craters on Pluto and Charon Indicate a Deficit of Small Kuiper Belt Objects. (arXiv:1902.10795v1 [astro-ph.EP])

Impact Craters on Pluto and Charon Indicate a Deficit of Small Kuiper Belt Objects. (arXiv:1902.10795v1 [astro-ph.EP])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Singer_K/0/1/0/all/0/1">K. N. Singer</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+McKinnon_W/0/1/0/all/0/1">W. B. McKinnon</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Gladman_B/0/1/0/all/0/1">B. Gladman</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Greenstreet_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. Greenstreet</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bierhaus_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">E. B. Bierhaus</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Stern_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. A. Stern</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Parker_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">A. H. Parker</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Robbins_S/0/1/0/all/0/1">S. J. Robbins</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Schenk_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">P. M. Schenk</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Grundy_W/0/1/0/all/0/1">W. M. Grundy</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Bray_V/0/1/0/all/0/1">V. J. Bray</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Beyer_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. A. Beyer</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Binzel_R/0/1/0/all/0/1">R. P. Binzel</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Weaver_H/0/1/0/all/0/1">H. A. Weaver</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Young_L/0/1/0/all/0/1">L. A. Young</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Spencer_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. R. Spencer</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Kavelaars_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. J. Kavelaars</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Moore_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">J. M. Moore</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Zangari_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">A. M. Zangari</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Olkin_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">C. B. Olkin</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lauer_T/0/1/0/all/0/1">T. R. Lauer</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lisse_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">C. M. Lisse</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ennico_K/0/1/0/all/0/1">K. Ennico</a> (New Horizons Geology, Geophysics and Imaging Science Theme Team, New Horizons Surface Composition Science)

The flyby of Pluto and Charon by the New Horizons spacecraft provided
high-resolution images of cratered surfaces embedded in the Kuiper belt, an
extensive region of bodies orbiting beyond Neptune. Impact craters on Pluto and
Charon were formed by collisions with other Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) with
diameters from ~40 kilometers to ~300 meters, smaller than most KBOs observed
directly by telescopes. We find a relative paucity of small craters less than
approximately 13 kilometers in diameter, which cannot be explained solely by
geological resurfacing. This implies a deficit of small KBOs (less than 1 to 2
kilometers in diameter). Some surfaces on Pluto and Charon are likely greater
than 4 billion years old, thus their crater records provide information on the
size-frequency distribution of KBOs in the early Solar System.

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