Multi-instrument analysis of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko coma particles: COPS-GIADA data fusion

Abstract

Context. The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has offered scientists the opportunity to study a comet in unprecedented detail. Four instruments of the Rosetta orbiter, namely, the Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System (MIDAS), the Grain Impact Analyzer and Dust Accumulator (GIADA), the COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyser (COSIMA), and the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) have provided information on cometary dust particles. Cross-instrument comparisons are crucial to characterize cometary dust particles beyond the capabilities of individual sensors, as they are sensitive to different dust components. Aims. We present the first comparison between detections of the ROSINA COmet Pressure Sensor (COPS) and GIADA. These two instruments are complementary as the former is sensitive solely to volatiles of icy particles, while the latter measured the dust particle as a whole, including refractories and condensed (semi)volatiles. Our goal is to correlate the particles detected by COPS and GIADA and to assess whether they belong to a common group. Methods. We statistically analyzed the in situ data of COPS and GIADA by calculating Pearson correlation coefficients. Results. Among the several types of particles detected by GIADA, we find that COPS particles are significantly correlated solely with GIADA fluffy agglomerates (Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.55 and p-value of 4.6 × 10−3). This suggests that fluffy particles are composed of both refractories and volatiles. COPS volatile volumes, which may be represented by equivalent spheres with a diameter in the range between 0.06 µm and 0.8 µm, are similar to the sizes of the fractal particle’s subunits identified by MIDAS (i.e., 0.05–0.18 µm).