| 1. |
- Fuselier, S. A., et al.
(author)
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ROSINA/DFMS and IES observations of 67P : Ion-neutral chemistry in the coma of a weakly outgassing comet
- 2015
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 583
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The Rosetta encounter with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko provides a unique opportunity for an in situ, up-close investigation of ion-neutral chemistry in the coma of a weakly outgassing comet far from the Sun. Aims. Observations of primary and secondary ions and modeling are used to investigate the role of ion-neutral chemistry within the thin coma. Methods. Observations from late October through mid-December 2014 show the continuous presence of the solar wind 30 km from the comet nucleus. These and other observations indicate that there is no contact surface and the solar wind has direct access to the nucleus. On several occasions during this time period, the Rosetta/ROSINA/Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer measured the low-energy ion composition in the coma. Organic volatiles and water group ions and their breakup products (masses 14 through 19), COP, and CO, (masses 28 and 44) and other mass peaks (at masses 26, 27, and possibly 30) were observed. Secondary ions include H3O+ and HCO+ (masses 19 and 29). These secondary ions indicate ion-neutral chemistry in the thin coma of the comet. A relatively simple model is constructed to account for the low H3O /H2O+ and HCO /CO+ ratios observed in a water dominated coma. Results from this simple model are compared with results from models that include a more detailed chemical reaction network. Results. At low outgassing rates, predictions from the simple model agree with observations and with results from more complex models that include much more chemistry. At higher outgassing rates, the ion-neutral chemistry is still limited and high HCO /CO+ ratios are predicted and observed. However, at higher outgassing rates, the model predicts high H3O /H2O+ ratios and the observed ratios are often low. These low ratios may be the result of the highly heterogeneous nature of the coma, where CO and CO2 number densities can exceed that of water.
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| 2. |
- Beth, A., et al.
(author)
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First in situ detection of the cometary ammonium ion NH4+ (protonated ammonia NH3) in the coma of 67P/C-G near perihelion
- 2016
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 462, s. S562-S572
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we report the first in situ detection of the ammonium ion NH4+ at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) in a cometary coma, using the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA)/Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer (DFMS). Unlike neutral and ion spectrometers onboard previous cometary missions, the ROSINA/DFMS spectrometer, when operated in ion mode, offers the capability to distinguish NH4+ from H2O+ in a cometary coma. We present here the ion data analysis of mass-to-charge ratios 18 and 19 at high spectral resolution and compare the results with an ionospheric model to put these results into context. The model confirms that the ammonium ion NH4+ is one of the most abundant ion species, as predicted, in the coma near perihelion.
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| 3. |
- Fuselier, S. A., et al.
(author)
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Ion chemistry in the coma of comet 67P near perihelion
- 2016
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 462, s. S67-S77
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The coma and the comet-solar wind interaction of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko changed dramatically from the initial Rosetta spacecraft encounter in 2014 August through perihelion in 2015 August. Just before equinox (at 1.6 au from the Sun), the solar wind signal disappeared and two regions of different cometary ion characteristics were observed. These 'outer' and 'inner' regions have cometary ion characteristics similar to outside and inside the ion pileup region observed during the Giotto approach to comet 1P/Halley. Rosetta/Double-Focusing Mass Spectrometer ion mass spectrometer observations are used here to investigate the H3O+/H2O+ ratio in the outer and inner regions at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The H3O+/H2O+ ratio and the H3O+ signal are observed to increase in the transition from the outer to the inner region and the H3O+ signal appears to be weakly correlated with cometary ion energy. These ion composition changes are similar to the ones observed during the 1P/Halley flyby. Modelling is used to determine the importance of neutral composition and transport of neutrals and ions away from the nucleus. This modelling demonstrates that changes in the H3O+/H2O+ ratio appear to be driven largely by transport properties and only weakly by neutral composition in the coma.
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| 4. |
- Broiles, Thomas W., et al.
(author)
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Statistical analysis of suprathermal electron drivers at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
- 2016
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 462, s. S312-S322
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We use observations from the Ion and Electron Sensor (IES) on board the Rosetta spacecraft to study the relationship between the cometary suprathermal electrons and the drivers that affect their density and temperature. We fit the IES electron observations with the summation of two kappa distributions, which we characterize as a dense and warm population (similar to 10 cm(-3) and similar to 16 eV) and a rarefied and hot population (similar to 0.01 cm(-3) and similar to 43 eV). The parameters of our fitting technique determine the populations' density, temperature, and invariant kappa index. We focus our analysis on the warm population to determine its origin by comparing the density and temperature with the neutral density and magnetic field strength. We find that the warm electron population is actually two separate sub-populations: electron distributions with temperatures above 8.6 eV and electron distributions with temperatures below 8.6 eV. The two sub-populations have different relationships between their density and temperature. Moreover, the two sub-populations are affected by different drivers. The hotter sub-population temperature is strongly correlated with neutral density, while the cooler sub-population is unaffected by neutral density and is only weakly correlated with magnetic field strength. We suggest that the population with temperatures above 8.6 eV is being heated by lower hybrid waves driven by counterstreaming solar wind protons and newly formed, cometary ions created in localized, dense neutral streams. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first observations of cometary electrons heated through wave-particle interactions.
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| 5. |
- Fayolle, E. C., et al.
(author)
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Protostellar and cometary detections of organohalogens
- 2017
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In: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 1:10, s. 703-708
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Organohalogens, a class of molecules that contain at least one halogen atom bonded to carbon, are abundant on the Earth where they are mainly produced through industrial and biological processes(1). Consequently, they have been proposed as biomarkers in the search for life on exoplanets(2). Simple halogen hydrides have been detected in interstellar sources and in comets, but the presence and possible incorporation of more complex halogen-containing molecules such as organohalogens into planet-forming regions is uncertain(3,4). Here we report the interstellar detection of two isotopologues of the organohalogen CH3Cl and put some constraints on CH3F in the gas surrounding the low-mass protostar IRAS 16293-2422, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We also find CH3Cl in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) by using the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) instrument. The detections reveal an efficient pre-planetary formation pathway of organohalogens. Cometary impacts may deliver these species to young planets and should thus be included as a potential abiotical production source when interpreting future organohalogen detections in atmospheres of rocky planets.
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| 6. |
- Heritier, K. L., et al.
(author)
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Ion composition at comet 67P near perihelion : Rosetta observations and model-based interpretation
- 2017
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 469, s. S427-S442
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the ion composition in the coma of comet 67P with newly detected ion species over the 28-37 u mass range, probed by Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA)/Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer (DFMS). In summer 2015, the nucleus reached its highest outgassing rate and ion-neutral reactions started to take place at low cometocentric distances. Minor neutrals can efficiently capture protons from the ion population, making the protonated version of these neutrals a major ion species. So far, only NH4+ has been reported at comet 67P. However, there are additional neutral species with proton affinities higher than that of water (besides NH3) that have been detected in the coma of comet 67P: CH3OH, HCN, H2CO and H2S. Their protonated versions have all been detected. Statistics showing the number of detections with respect to the number of scans are presented. The effect of the negative spacecraft potential probed by the Rosetta Plasma Consortium/LAngmuir Probe on ion detection is assessed. An ionospheric model has been developed to assess the different ion density profiles and compare them to the ROSINA/DFMS measurements. It is also used to interpret the ROSINA/DFMS observations when different ion species have similar masses, and their respective densities are not high enough to disentangle them using the ROSINA/DFMS high-resolution mode. The different ion species that have been reported in the coma of 67P are summarized and compared with the ions detected at comet 1P/Halley during the Giotto mission.
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| 7. |
- Edberg, Niklas J. T., et al.
(author)
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Spatial distribution of low-energy plasma around comet 67P/CG from Rosetta measurements
- 2015
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In: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 42:11, s. 4263-4269
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We use measurements from the Rosetta plasma consortium Langmuir probe and mutual impedance probe to study the spatial distribution of low-energy plasma in the near-nucleus coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The spatial distribution is highly structured with the highest density in the summer hemisphere and above the region connecting the two main lobes of the comet, i.e., the neck region. There is a clear correlation with the neutral density and the plasma to neutral density ratio is found to be approximate to 1-210(-6), at a cometocentric distance of 10km and at 3.1AU from the Sun. A clear 6.2h modulation of the plasma is seen as the neck is exposed twice per rotation. The electron density of the collisionless plasma within 260km from the nucleus falls off with radial distance as approximate to 1/r. The spatial structure indicates that local ionization of neutral gas is the dominant source of low-energy plasma around the comet.
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