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Search for serendipitous TNO occultation in X-rays
To study the population properties of small, remote objects beyond Neptune's
orbit in the outer solar system, of kilometer size or smaller, serendipitous
occultation search is so far the only way. For hectometer-sized Trans-Neptunian
Objects (TNOs), optical shadows actually disappear because of diffraction.
Observations at shorter wave lengths are needed. Here we report the effort of
TNO occultation search in X-rays using RXTE/PCA data of Sco X-1 taken from June
2007 to October 2011. No definite TNO occultation events were found in the 334
ks data. We investigate the detection efficiency dependence on the TNO size to
better define the sensible size range of our approach and suggest upper limits
to the TNO size distribution in the size range from 30 m to 300 m. A list of
X-ray sources suitable for future larger facilities to observe is proposed.Comment: Accepted to publish in MNRA
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