The structure of cometary ionospheres. I - H2O dominated comets

Details The structure of cometary ionospheres. I - H2O dominated comets The structure of cometary ionospheres. I - H2O dominated comets

Jul 1976

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1976icar...28..389i&link_type=abstract

Icarus, vol. 28, July 1976, p. 389-400.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

19

Atmospheric Composition, Comets, Earth Ionosphere, Ionospheres, Kohoutek Comet, Water Vapor, Abundance, Astronomical Models, Comet Heads, Comet Tails, Gas Ionization, Molecular Ions, Photochemical Reactions, Photodissociation

Scientific paper

A hydrodynamic description of the density distributions of the ionic products of H2O and CO in the atmosphere of an H2O-dominated comet having 10% CO is given. Two models are discussed. In the first, the effecs of photodissociation, photoionization, and gas-phase reactions are considered. In the second, the effect of an internal ionization source is also included. It is found that while the observed morphology of the H2O(+) coma of Comet Kohoutek (1973f) cannot be explained by gas-phase reactions alone, it is consistent with the presence of a strong internal source of ionization, presumably an electric current flowing through the inner coma. In the latter case the number densities of H2O(+) and CO(+) remain more or less constant within the scale lengths against collisional dissociation by the electron flux of their neutrals. While the abundance ratio of CO(+) to H2O(+) remains considerably less than unity when the internal ionization source is neglected, it is significantly larger than unity when the internal ionization source is included. Consequently, even the so-called 'CO-rich' comets may in reality be H2O-dominated, provided a strong internal source of ionization is operative.

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