Properties of the Trans-Neptunian Belt: Statistics from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Survey*

We present the results of a wide-—eld survey designed to measure the size, inclination, and radial distributions of Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs). The survey found 86 KBOs in 73 deg2 observed to limiting red magnitude of 23.7 using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the 12K ] 8K CCD mosaic camera. For the —rst time, both ecliptic and oU-ecliptic —elds were examined to more accurately constrain the inclination distribution of the KBOs. The survey data were processed using an automatic moving-object detection algorithm, allowing a careful characterization of the biases involved. In this work, we quantify fundamental parameters of the classical KBOs (CKBOs), the most numerous objects found in our sample, using the new data and a maximum likelihood simulation. Deriving results from our best-—t model, we —nd that the size distribution follows a diUerential power law with exponent (1 p,