The composition of dust in Jupiter-family comets inferred from infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

We review the composition of Jupiter-family comet (JFC) dust as inferred from infrared spectroscopy. We find that JFCs have 10 μ m silicate emission features with fluxes roughly 20–25% over the dust continuum (emission strength 1.20–1.25), similar to the weakest silicate features in Oort Cloud (OC) comets. We discuss the grain properties that alter the silicate emission feature (composition, size, and structure/shape), and emphasize that thermal emission from the comet nucleus can have significant influence on the derived silicate emission strength. Recent evidence suggests that grain porosity is the is different between JFCs and OC comets, but more observations and models of silicates in JFCs are needed to determine if a consistent set of grain parameters can explain their weak silicate emission features. Models of 8 m telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope observations have shown that JFCs have crystalline silicates with abundances similar to or less than those found in OC comets, although the crystalline silicate mineralogy of comets 9P/Tempel and C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) differ from each other in Mg and Fe content. The heterogeneity of comet nuclei can also be assessed with mid-infrared spectroscopy, and we review the evidence for heterogeneous dust properties in the nucleus of comet 9P/Tempel. Models of dust formation, mixing in the solar nebula, and comet formation must be able to explain the observed range of Mg and Fe content and the heterogeneity of comet 9P/Tempel, although more work is needed in order to understand to what extent do comets 9P/Tempel and Hale-Bopp represent comets as a whole.