The Detection Limits for Trans-Neptunian Dwarf Planets of the Siding Spring Survey

Abstract

The population of icy objects beyond Neptune provide dynamical and compositional insight into the early history and subsequent evolution of the Solar System. The past several years have seen the completion of major surveys of this population across the Northern Hemisphere sky and the introduction of surveys in the South. We present the results of our archival search of more than ten thousand square degrees of sky south of the ecliptic observed over five years, with an approximate limiting flux of m(clear)~19.5. We detail our innovative survey technique, its null detection, and our modelling of the survey's sensitivity via a synthetic population of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).