CN column density distribution in Comet P/Halley

Details CN column density distribution in Comet P/Halley CN column density distribution in Comet P/Halley

Feb 1993

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993a%26a...268..319s&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 268, no. 1, p. 319-325.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

6

Cometary Atmospheres, Density Distribution, Halley'S Comet, Interstellar Chemistry, Chemical Composition, Chemical Reactions, Comet Nuclei, Comets, Halley, Cn Radical, Density, Comae, Distribution, Distance, Production Rate, Periodicity, Origin, Source, Formation, Comparisons, Models, Photodissociation, Parent Molecules, Velocity, Jetting, Sputtering

Scientific paper

Mean radial column density profiles of Comet P/Halley ranging up to cometocentric distances of 5 x 10 exp 5 km, were constructed from CN photographs obtained between March 14 and March 16 as well as April 1 and April 10, 1986. The profiles show variations in shape that result from periodic increases of the CN production rate and support the existence of a 7.4-day period. These short term variabilities cause the formation of some characteristic features (bumps) that are superimposed on the background column density profile and correspond to the 2D CN shells found in the coma of Comet P/Halley. This leads to the supposition that the bulk of CN radicals forms the background profile, while the CN in the shells is produced by an additional distributed source for which organic macromolecules have been proposed. Furthermore, a comparison of the observed CN column density as a function of cometocentric distance with model simulated CN profiles indicates that the bulk of CN radicals cannot exclusively be produced by photodissociation of gaseous parent molecules, which evaporate directly from the nucleus. This implies the presence of an additional more distributed source for the bulk of CN radicals.

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