| 1. |
- Maggiolo, R., et al.
(author)
-
The Effect of Cosmic Rays on Cometary Nuclei. II. Impact on Ice Composition and Structure
- 2020
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 901:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since their formation in the protosolar nebula some similar to 4.5 billion years ago, comets are in storage in cold distant regions of the solar system, the Kuiper Belt/scattered disk or Oort Cloud. Therefore, they have been considered as mostly unaltered samples of the protosolar nebula. However, a significant dose of energy is deposited by galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) into the outermost tens of meters of cometary nuclei during their stay in the Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt. We investigate the impact of energy deposition by GCRs on cometary nuclei. We use experimental results from laboratory experiments and the energy deposition by GCRs estimated by Gronoff et al. (2020), to discuss the depth down to which the cometary nucleus is altered by GCRs. We show that GCRs do not significantly change the isotopic composition of cometary material but modify the chemical composition and the ice structure in the outer layers of the nucleus, which cannot be considered as pristine solar nebula material. We discuss the effect of the collisional history of comets on the distribution of processed material inside the nucleus and its implication on the observation of comets.
|
|
| 2. |
- Aleinov, I, et al.
(author)
-
Modeling a Transient Secondary Paleolunar Atmosphere : 3-D Simulations and Analysis
- 2019
-
In: Geophysical Research Letters. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 46:10, s. 5107-5116
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The lunar history of water deposition, loss, and transport postaccretion has become an important consideration in relation to the possibility of a human outpost on the Moon. Very recent work has shown that a secondary primordial atmosphere of up to 10 mbar could have been emplaced similar to 3.5 x 10(9) years ago due to volcanic outgassing from the maria. Using a zero-dimensional chemistry model, we demonstrate the temperature dependence of the resulting major atmospheric components (CO or CO2). We use a three-dimensional general circulation model to test the viability of such an atmosphere and derive its climatological characteristics. Based on these results, we then conjecture on its capability to transport volatiles outgassed from the maria to the permanently shadowed regions at the poles. Our preliminary results demonstrate that atmospheres as low as 1 mbar are viable and that permanent cold trapping of volatiles is only possible at the poles.
|
|
