Properties Of Cometary Dust Research Articles

Polarisation properties of comet NEAT C/2001 Q4

Comets exhibit high (up to 25 %) amount of optical polarization when they are observed through ground based or space telescopes. These polarizations are caused due to the scattering of cometary dust. The observed linear polarisation of comets is generally a function of the wavelength of incident light (λ), the scattering angle (θ), the geometrical shape and size of the particle and the composition of dust particles in terms of the complex values of the refractive index. The scattering properties of cometary dust will help to know the nature of cometary dust. In the present work, the observed linear polarization data of Comet NEAT are studied through simulations using Ballistic Particle-Cluster Aggregate (BPCA) and Ballistic Cluster-Cluster Aggregate (BCCA). Using Superposition T-matrix code, the best-fitting values of complex refractive indices are calculated which can well fit the observed polarization data of Comet NEAT C/2001 Q4. The best fitting values of complex refractive indices coming out from the present analysis correspond to mixture of both silicates and organics.

ISO Observations of Comets

The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) offered us the opportunity to observe celestial bodies from 2.4 to 196 microns. A wealth of new results were obtained for comets. Spectroscopic investigations have shown band fluorescence emissions for H2O, CO and CO2, and rotational line emissions for H2O. High resolution spectra of water vapor around 2.7 microns in comets C/1995 01 (Hale-Bopp) and 103P/Hartley 2 have permitted measurement of the water rotational temperature and ortho-to-para ratio. The thermal region of the spectra showed the signatures of crystalline, Mg-rich olivine and emission features attributed to water ice. Broad band photometry of the coma allowed to investigate several properties of cometary dust, such has color temperature, size distribution and production rate. For several comets, it was possible to separate the nuclear and coma contribution in infrared images obtained from the ISO camera. Inferences concerning the nucleus size and albedo were obtained.

Properties of Cometary Dust from Color and Polarization

It is shown that the maximum value of the polarization of light scattered by either spherical or spheroidal polydisperse particles is mainly governed by the composition of grain material (complex refractive index), whereas its color is mainly determined by the grain size distribution. This conclusion is also valid for particles of a more general shape. Relations are obtained which make it possible to evaluate the properties of cometary grains from the color and polarization measured for the cometary continuum at large phase angles. These relations are especially suitable for carrying out a comparative analysis of cometary dust. From our own photometric and polarimetric data of five recent comets we predict their dust properties and compare them with the interpretation of infrared observations available in the literature.

Physical Characteristics of Cometary Dust from Dynamical Studies: A Review

In this review attention is focused on those areas of the dynamical investigation of cometary dust in which significant progress has been achieved since the previous review papers (Sekanina 1976a, 1977). Much of the progress stems from work based on the model of dust comets formulated by Finson and Probstein (1968a). Their introduction of a new technique for dust-tail studies has made it possible for the first time to gain insight into such properties of cometary dust as the size distribution function of particles shortly after emission from the comet nucleus, the distribution of particle ejection velocities, and the production of dust versus time. Since the Finson-Probstein approach is of a combined dynamical/photometric type, information on particle sizes and masses is provided indirectly, through parametric functions determined from the observed distribution of light intensity in the tail. The basic limitation is that particle radius a cannot be separated from particle density ρ, as their product is related to a directly observed quantity β, the acceleration exerted on the particle by solar radiation pressure. Expressed in units of solar attraction, β for a spherical particle is given by where c0 = 0.585 × 10−4 g/cm2 and Qpr is the integrated scattering efficiency of the particle for radiation pressure, which varies significantly with a for particles whose dimensions are smaller than the effective wavelength of solar radiation.