Simulation of Comet Impact and Survivability of Organic Compounds

Details Simulation of Comet Impact and Survivability of Organic Compounds Simulation of Comet Impact and Survivability of Organic Compounds

Dec 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aipc..955.1391l&link_type=abstract

SHOCK COMPRESSION OF CONDENSED MATTER - 2007: Proceedings of the Conference of the American Physical Society Topical Group on Sh

Physics

Condensed Matter

Impact Phenomena, High-Pressure And Shock Wave Effects In Solids And Liquids, Numerical Simulation, Solution Of Equations

Scientific paper

Comets have long been proposed as a potential means for the transport of complex organic compounds to early Earth. For this to be a viable mechanism, a significant fraction of organic compounds must survive the high temperatures due to impact. We have undertaken three-dimensional numerical simulations to track the thermodynamic state of a comet during oblique impacts. The comet was modeled as a 1-km water-ice sphere impacting a basalt plane at 11.2 km/s impact angles of 15° (from horizontal), 30°, 45°, 65°, and 90° (normal impact) were examined. The survival of organic cometary material, modeled as water ice for simplicity, was calculated using three criteria: (1) peak temperatures, (2) the thermodynamic phase of H2O, and (3) final temperature upon isentropic unloading. For impact angles greater than or equal to 30°, no organic material is expected to survive the impact. For the 15° impact, most of the material survives the initial impact and significant fractions (55%, 25%, and 44%, respectively) satisfy each survival criterion at 1 second. Heating due to deceleration, in addition to shock heating, plays a role in the heating of the cometary material for non-normal impacts. This effect is more noticeable for more oblique impacts, resulting in significant deviations from estimates using scaling of normal impacts. The deceleration heating of the material at late times requires further modeling of breakup and mixing.

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