The transneptunian objects ( TNOs ) trapped in mean-motion resonances with Neptune were likely emplaced there during planet migration late in the giant-planet formation process .
We perform detailed modelling of the resonant objects detected in the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey ( CFEPS ) in order to provide population estimates and , for some resonances , constrain the complex internal orbital element distribution .
Detection biases play a critical role because phase relationships with Neptune make object discovery more likely at certain longitudes .
This paper discusses the 3:2 , 5:2 , 2:1 , 3:1 , 5:1 , 4:3 , 5:3 , 7:3 , 5:4 , and 7:4 mean-motion resonances , all of which had CFEPS detections , along with our upper limit on 1:1 Neptune Trojans ( which is consistent with their small population estimated elsewhere ) .
For the plutinos ( TNOs in the 3:2 resonance ) we refine the orbital element distribution given in Kavelaars et al . ( 2009 ) and show that steep H -magnitude distributions ( N ( H ) \propto 10 ^ { \alpha H } , with \alpha = 0.8–0.9 ) are favoured in the range H _ { g } =8–9 , and confirm that this resonance does not share the inclination distribution of the classical Kuiper Belt .
We give the first population estimate for the 5:2 resonance and find that , to within the uncertainties , the population is equal to that of the 3:2 ( \simeq 13,000 TNOs with H _ { g } < 9.16 ) , whereas the 2:1 population is smaller by a factor of 3–4 compared to the other two resonances .
We also measure significant populations inhabiting the 4:3 , 5:3 , 7:3 , 5:4 , 7:4 , 3:1 , and 5:1 resonances , with H _ { g } < 9.16 ( D > 100 km ) populations in the thousands .
We compare our intrinsic population and orbital-element distributions with several published models of resonant-TNO production ; the most striking discrepancy is that resonances beyond the 2:1 are in reality more heavily populated than in published models .