Abstract
In this work, we continue revising the theoretical basis of numerical models describing the transport of matter and energy inside a porous dust-ice mixture at low temperature. A model of a light-absorbing near-surface layer of a comet nucleus is investigated. Gas transport is considered simultaneously with the solution of the general heat transfer equation. The quasi-stationary temperature distribution and the H2O mass flux and sublimation rate are computed for a nucleus model of comet 19P/Borrelly at the Deep Space 1 (DS1) encounter. The energy is deposited in a layer of about 20 particle radii: This corresponds to a solid-state greenhouse effect. The surface temperature of the layer-absorbing model as well as the gas production rate are significantly smaller than the ones in the surface-absorbing model. An active fraction of 40–50% would be required to explain the observed water production rate of P/Borrelly with our layer-absorption model at the time of the DS l encounter.
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