Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.4301r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #43.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.562
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The equations that determine the changing structure of the nucleus and the evolution of its activity have no analytic solutions. Therefore numerical schemes have to be developed. Numerical studies are based, however, on simplifying assumptions, of which the most common is neglect of lateral heat conduction. This reduces the system to one dimension, the radial distance, but introduces severe restrictions on the physical processes that can be studied by such codes, since the main energy source of a comet nucleus - solar energy - is far from being spherically symmetrically distributed over the nucleus surface.
We have thus developed a fully 3-D numerical model of a comet nucleus, based on an implicit numerical scheme that takes into account internal heat sources, crystallization of amorphous ice, and sublimation of ice in a spherical body composed of a mixture of ice and dust. Such a model has not been developed before, although attempts have been made to develop quasi 3-D models of the nucleus or 2-D models of the surface. The new code enables us to study accurately the effect of rotation and spin axis inclination and thus follow the changing thermal structure due to diurnal and seasonal effects.
The code was applied to model comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. A systematic study of the spin axis tilt was also performed, in order to determine the minimal temperature that can be maintained at any point of a comet nucleus in a typical Jupiter-family-comet orbit. This constrains the volatile species that can be expected to survive on the surface of the nucleus. It also indicates whether it is possible to find amorphous ice anywhere on the surface of such comets.
Prialnik Dina
Rosenberg Eric
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