Statistics
Scientific paper
Jul 1994
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994metic..29q.534s&link_type=abstract
Meteoritics (ISSN 0026-1114), vol. 29, no. 4, p. 534
Statistics
Chemical Composition, Comet Nuclei, Gravitational Effects, Inhomogeneity, Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet, Astronomical Models, Monte Carlo Method, Oort Cloud, Tensile Strength
Scientific paper
Stability and structure of cometary nuclei became a frequently discussed problem due to the tidal disruption of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 during its passage within the Roche limit of Jupiter in July 1992. Even if the size, density, surface morphology, and internal structure of cometary nuclei are not known, it is possible to estimate their ranges from data of observed split comets. Statistics of observed splits give the rate of 0.01 comets per year. This unexpectedly large rate has an important implication for the process of how the Oort cloud has been formed in the early phase of solar system history: The efficiency of ejecting the nuclei into the Oort cloud by gravitational perturbations of large outer planets must be lower, because it is roughly proportional to the closest approach distance to the perturbing planet. It does match the compositional differences in comets found by Schleicher et al., which suggest a much larger range of formation places of comets in the protoplanetary disk. Several Monte Carlo models of cometary nuclei consisting of approximately 1-km, loosely bound ice planetesimals were created to study the statistics of splits by approaching massive planets. The tensile strengths were assumed between 102 and 104 N/sq m, density between 0.5 and 1.2 g/ccm, and sizes of nucleus ranging from 1 km to 100 km. Split comets were supposed to be completely disintegrated. Times needed to form the Oort cloud and/or Kuiper belt were found to be at least 2x longer than those computed by Duncan et al.
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