Cometary nucleus as aggregate of planetesimals

Computer Science

Scientific paper

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Aggregates, Comet Nuclei, Evolution (Development), Nebulae, Protoplanets, Mass Spectra, Sediments, Spatial Distribution

Scientific paper

Properties of planetesimals and their aggregates that formed in the primordial solar nebula and would have survived up to the present time are studied in relation to the origin of comets. The result that a planetesimal of small mass is formed by nonhomologous sedimentation of grains is taken into account in determining the initial mass of a planetesimal. Analytic formulas are presented for the mass of the aggregates, their size, and the number of planetesimals that compose the aggregate; each is expressed as a function of the heliocentric distance. It is pointed out that the mass of a planetesimal formed by gravitational instability of the dust layer is related to the total number of comets. From a comparison of the total number of comets and aggregates of planetesimals, it is shown that the initial mass of a planetesimal is .0001 to .000001 time smaller that that estimated by assuming complete sedimentation of grains. Spatial distribution and mass spectrum of the aggregates are calculated. The spatial distribution shows that most of the aggregates are populated outside the planetary region, and has a maximum around a few hundred Au. It is shown that, if the surface density of grains in the solar nebula is expressed by a power law of the heliocentric distance, the differential mass spectrum is approximated by a power law with the exponent of -5/3 for a wide range of mass, regardless of the power index of the grain surface density.

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