Comet P/Halley - Implications of the mass distribution function for the photopolarimetric properties of the dust coma

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

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Astronomical Photometry, Cosmic Dust, Distribution Functions, Halley'S Comet, Mass Distribution, Polarization Characteristics, Brightness Distribution, Giotto Mission, Grain Size, Olivine, Silicates, Vega Project

Scientific paper

The dust particle fluences measured aboard the Vega (SP-1 and SP-2 impact sensors) and Giotto probes (DIDSY impact sensors) are analyzed to obtain the differential size distribution function of the dust in the coma of comet Halley. The brightness integral is then calculated for perfectly spherical (Mie scattering) and rough grains of various compositions. It is shown that the photopolarimetric observations rule out the dominating presence of weakly obsorbing silicates such as olivine but are compatible with rough moderately absorbing silicate grains having a density decreasing with radius and with rough graphite grains. A mixture of the two types gives in fact the best agreement with the observations.

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