On the dynamical response of a cometary ion tail to a solar-wind event

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (18) References (29) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS On the dynamical response of a cometary ion tail to a solar-wind event Ip, W. -H. Abstract The interaction of a high-speed solar-wind stream with a comet is considered, with the comet Kohoutek (1973f) events investigated by Niedner, Rothe, and Brandt, and Niedner and Brandt, as a specific example. It is found that, at the peak of the compression region of the high-speed stream, the positions of the shock and contact surface of the cometary ionosphere could be reduced by a factor of 4, resulting in a large proportion of the plasma in the original ion tail being swept away. As the maximum stagnation pressure of the compressed solar-wind plasma is about 6 times larger than that in the low-speed solar wind just before the arrival of the compression region, the pressure of the cometary ionosphere might be too weak to stand off the compressed solar-wind plasma during the course of the event. In such a case, the whole ion tail would be uprooted from the head. These dynamical processes probably are responsible, at least in part, for the formation of side rays and the disconnection of the ion tail of comet Kohoutek during the interval considered. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: May 1980 DOI: 10.1086/157996 Bibcode: 1980ApJ...238..388I Keywords: Comet Tails; Dynamic Response; Interplanetary Medium; Kohoutek Comet; Plasma Dynamics; Plasma Interactions; Solar Wind; Interplanetary Magnetic Fields; Ionospheres; Magnetohydrodynamic Flow; COMETS; IONS; COMET TAILS; SOLAR WIND; DYNAMICS; DIAGRAMS; COMAE; KOHOUTEK COMET; IONOSPHERE; PLASMAS; DATA; INTERACTIONS; MODELS; MAGNETIC FIELDS; PRESSURE; Astrophysics; Comets full text sources ADS |