| 1. |
- Gronoff, Guillaume, et al.
(författare)
-
The Effect of Cosmic Rays on Cometary Nuclei. I. Dose Deposition
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 890:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Comets are small bodies thought to contain the most pristine material in the solar system. However, since their formation ≈4.5 Gy ago, they have been altered by different processes. While not exposed to much electromagnetic radiation, they experience intense particle radiation. Galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles have a broad spectrum of energies and interact with the cometary surface and subsurface; they are the main source of space weathering for a comet in the Kuiper Belt or in the Oort Cloud, and also affect the ice prior to the comet agglomeration. While low-energy particles interact only with the cometary surface, the most energetic ones deposit a significant amount of energy down to tens of meters. This interaction can modify the isotopic ratios in cometary ices and create secondary compounds through radiolysis, such as O2 and H2O2 (Paper II). In this paper, we model the energy deposition of energetic particles as a function of depth using a Geant4 application modified to account for the isotope creation process. We quantify the energy deposited in cometary nucleus by galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles. The consequences of the energy deposition on the isotopic and chemical composition of cometary ices and their implication on the interpretation of cometary observations, notably of 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko by the ESA Rosetta spacecraft, will be discussed in Paper II.
|
|
| 2. |
- Simon Wedlund, Cyril, et al.
(författare)
-
Hybrid modelling of cometary plasma environments : I. Impact of photoionisation, charge-exchange and electron ionisation on bow shock and cometopause at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 604
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The ESA/Rosetta mission made it possible to monitor the plasma environment of a comet, from near aphelion to perihelion conditions. To understand the complex dynamics and plasma structures found at the comet, a modelling effort must be carried out in parallel. Aims. Firstly, we present a 3D hybrid model of the cometary plasma environment including photoionisation, solar wind charge exchange, and electron ionisation reactions; this model is used in stationary and dynamic conditions (mimicking the solar wind variations), and is thus especially adapted to a weakly outgassing comet such as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the target of the ESA/Rosetta mission. Secondly, we use the model to study the respective effects of ionisation processes on the formation of the dayside macroscopic magnetic and density boundaries upstream of comet 67P in perihelion conditions at 1.3 AU. Thirdly, we explore and discuss the effects of these processes on the magnetic field line draping, ionisation rates, and composition in the context of the Rosetta mission. Methods. We used a new quasi-neutral hybrid model, originally designed for weakly magnetised planetary bodies, such as Venus, Mars, and Titan, and adapted here to comets. Ionisation processes were monitored individually and together following a probabilistic interaction scheme. Three-dimensional paraboloid fits of the bow shock surface, identified for a magnetosonic Mach number equal to 2, and of the cometopause surface, were performed for a more quantitative analysis. Results. We show that charge exchange and electron ionisation play a major role in the formation of a bow shock-like structure far upstream, while photoionisation is the main driver at and below the cometopause boundary, within 1000 km cometocentric distance. Charge exchange contributes to 42% of the total production rate in the simulation box, whereas production rates from electron ionisation and photoionisation reach 33% and 25%, respectively. We also discuss implications for Rosetta's observations, regarding the detection of the bow shock and the cometopause.
|
|
| 3. |
- Wedlund, Cyril Simon, et al.
(författare)
-
Solar wind charge exchange in cometary atmospheres : III. Results from the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 630
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Solar wind charge-changing reactions are of paramount importance to the physico-chemistry of the atmosphere of a comet. The ESA/Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) provides a unique opportunity to study charge-changing processes in situ.Aims. To understand the role of these reactions in the evolution of the solar wind plasma and interpret the complex in situ measurements made by Rosetta, numerical or analytical models are necessary.Methods. We used an extended analytical formalism describing solar wind charge-changing processes at comets along solar wind streamlines. The model is driven by solar wind ion measurements from the Rosetta Plasma Consortium-Ion Composition Analyser (RPC-ICA) and neutral density observations from the Rosetta Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis-Comet Pressure Sensor (ROSINA-COPS), as well as by charge-changing cross sections of hydrogen and helium particles in a water gas.Results. A mission-wide overview of charge-changing efficiencies at comet 67P is presented. Electron capture cross sections dominate and favor the production of He and H energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), with fluxes expected to rival those of H+ and He2+ ions.Conclusions. Neutral outgassing rates are retrieved from local RPC-ICA flux measurements and match ROSINA estimates very well throughout the mission. From the model, we find that solar wind charge exchange is unable to fully explain the magnitude of the sharp drop in solar wind ion fluxes observed by Rosetta for heliocentric distances below 2.5 AU. This is likely because the model does not take the relative ion dynamics into account and to a lesser extent because it ignores the formation of bow-shock-like structures upstream of the nucleus. This work also shows that the ionization by solar extreme-ultraviolet radiation and energetic electrons dominates the source of cometary ions, although solar wind contributions may be significant during isolated events.
|
|
| 4. |
- Wedlund, Cyril Simon, et al.
(författare)
-
Solar wind charge exchange in cometary atmospheres : I. Charge-changing and ionization cross sections for He and H particles in H2O
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 630
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Solar wind charge-changing reactions are of paramount importance to the physico-chemistry of the atmosphere of a comet, mass-loading the solar wind through an effective conversion of fast light solar wind ions into slow heavy cometary ions.Aims. To understand these processes and place them in the context of a solar wind plasma interacting with a neutral atmosphere, numerical or analytical models are necessary. Inputs of these models, such as collision cross sections and chemistry, are crucial.Methods. Book-keeping and fitting of experimentally measured charge-changing and ionization cross sections of hydrogen and helium particles in a water gas are discussed, with emphasis on the low-energy/low-velocity range that is characteristic of solar wind bulk speeds (<20 keV u−1/2000 km s−1).Results. We provide polynomial fits for cross sections of charge-changing and ionization reactions, and list the experimental needs for future studies. To take into account the energy distribution of the solar wind, we calculated Maxwellian-averaged cross sections and fitted them with bivariate polynomials for solar wind temperatures ranging from 105 to 106 K (12–130 eV).Conclusions. Single- and double-electron captures by He2+ dominate at typical solar wind speeds. Correspondingly, single-electron capture by H+ and single-electron loss by H− dominate at these speeds, resulting in the production of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs). Ionization cross sections all peak at energies above 20 keV and are expected to play a moderate role in the total ion production. However, the effect of solar wind Maxwellian temperatures is found to be maximum for cross sections peaking at higher energies, suggesting that local heating at shock structures in cometary and planetary environments may favor processes previously thought to be negligible. This study is the first part in a series of three on charge exchange and ionization processes at comets, with a specific application to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the Rosetta mission.
|
|
| 5. |
- Wedlund, Cyril Simon, et al.
(författare)
-
Solar wind charge exchange in cometary atmospheres : II. Analytical model
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 630
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Solar wind charge-changing reactions are of paramount importance to the physico-chemistry of the atmosphere of a comet because they mass-load the solar wind through an effective conversion of fast, light solar wind ions into slow, heavy cometary ions. The ESA/Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) provided a unique opportunity to study charge-changing processes in situ.Aims. To understand the role of charge-changing reactions in the evolution of the solar wind plasma and to interpret the complex in situ measurements made by Rosetta, numerical or analytical models are necessary.Methods. An extended analytical formalism describing solar wind charge-changing processes at comets along solar wind streamlines is presented. It is based on a thorough book-keeping of available charge-changing cross sections of hydrogen and helium particles in a water gas.Results. After presenting a general 1D solution of charge exchange at comets, we study the theoretical dependence of charge-state distributions of (He2+, He+, He0) and (H+, H0, H−) on solar wind parameters at comet 67P. We show that double charge exchange for the He2+−H2O system plays an important role below a solar wind bulk speed of 200 km s−1, resulting in the production of He energetic neutral atoms, whereas stripping reactions can in general be neglected. Retrievals of outgassing rates and solar wind upstream fluxes from local Rosetta measurements deep in the coma are discussed. Solar wind ion temperature effects at 400 km s−1 solar wind speed are well contained during the Rosetta mission.Conclusions. As the comet approaches perihelion, the model predicts a sharp decrease of solar wind ion fluxes by almost one order of magnitude at the location of Rosetta, forming in effect a solar wind ion cavity. This study is the second part of a series of three on solar wind charge-exchange and ionization processes at comets, with a specific application to comet 67P and the Rosetta mission.
|
|
| 6. |
- Wedlund, Cyril Simon, et al.
(författare)
-
The atmosphere of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko diagnosed by charge-exchanged solar wind alpha particles
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 587
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The ESA/Rosetta mission has been orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko since August 2014, measuring its dayside plasma environment. The ion spectrometer onboard Rosetta has detected two ion populations, one energetic with a solar wind origin (H+, He2+, He+), the other at lower energies with a cometary origin (water group ions such as H2O+). He+ ions arise mainly from charge-exchange between solar wind alpha particles and cometary neutrals such as H2O. Aims. The He+ and He2+ ion fluxes measured by the Rosetta Plasma Consortium Ion Composition Analyser (RPC-ICA) give insight into the composition of the dayside neutral coma, into the importance of charge-exchange processes between the solar wind and cometary neutrals, and into the way these evolve when the comet draws closer to the Sun. Methods. We combine observations by the ion spectrometer RPC-ICA onboard Rosetta with calculations from an analytical model based on a collisionless neutral Haser atmosphere and nearly undisturbed solar wind conditions. Results. Equivalent neutral outgassing rates Q can be derived using the observed RPC-ICA He+/He2+ particle flux ratios as input into the analytical model in inverse mode. A revised dependence of Q on heliocentric distance Rh in AU is found to be Rh -7.06Rh-7.06 between 1.8 and 3.3 AU, suggesting that the activity in 2015 differed from that of the 2008 perihelion passage. Conversely, using an outgassing rate determined from optical remote sensing measurements from Earth, the forward analytical model results are in relatively good agreement with the measured RPC-ICA flux ratios. Modelled ratios in a 2D spherically-symmetric plane are also presented, showing that charge exchange is most efficient with solar wind protons. Detailed cometocentric profiles of these ratios are also presented. Conclusions. In conclusion, we show that, with the help of a simple analytical model of charge-exchange processes, a mass-capable ion spectrometer such as RPC-ICA can be used as a "remote-sensing" instrument for the neutral cometary atmosphere.
|
|
