TY - JOUR A1 - Sachse, Manuel A1 - Kappel, David A1 - Tirsch, Daniela A1 - Otto, Katharina A. T1 - Discrete element modeling of aeolian-like morphologies on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. Even after the Rosetta mission, some of the mechanical parameters of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's surface material are still not well constrained. They are needed to improve our understanding of cometary activity or for planning sample return procedures. Aims. We discuss the physical process dominating the formation of aeolian-like surface features in the form of moats and wind taillike bedforms around obstacles and investigate the mechanical and geometrical parameters involved. Methods. By applying the discrete element method (DEM) in a low-gravity environment, we numerically simulated the dynamics of the surface layer particles and the particle stream involved in the formation of aeolian-like morphological features. The material is composed of polydisperse spherical particles that consist of a mixture of dust and water ice, with interparticle forces given by the Hertz contact model, cohesion, friction, and rolling friction. We determined a working set of parameters that enables simulations to be reasonably realistic and investigated morphological changes when modifying these parameters. Results. The aeolian-like surface features are reasonably well reproduced using model materials with a tensile strength on the order of 0.1-1 Pa. Stronger materials and obstacles with round shapes impede the formation of a moat and a wind tail. The integrated dust flux required for the formation of moats and wind tails is on the order of 100 kg m(-2), which, based on the timescale of morphological changes inferred from Rosetta images, translates to a near-surface particle density on the order of 10(-6)-10(-4) kg m(-3). Conclusions. DEM modeling of the aeolian-like surface features reveals complex formation mechanisms that involve both deposition of ejected material and surface erosion. More numerical work and additional in situ measurements or sample return missions are needed to better investigate mechanical parameters of cometary surface material and to understand the mechanics of cometary activity. KW - comets: general KW - comets: individual: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko KW - methods: numerical Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202141296 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 662 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Marschall, Raphael A1 - Skorov, Yuri A1 - Zakharov, Vladimir A1 - Rezac, Ladislav A1 - Gerig, Selina-Barbara A1 - Christou, Chariton A1 - Dadzie, S. Kokou A1 - Migliorini, Alessandra A1 - Rinaldi, Giovanna A1 - Agarwal, Jessica A1 - Vincent, Jean-Baptiste A1 - Kappel, David T1 - Cometary comae-surface links the physics of gas and dust from the surface to a spacecraft JF - Space science reviews N2 - A comet is a highly dynamic object, undergoing a permanent state of change. These changes have to be carefully classified and considered according to their intrinsic temporal and spatial scales. The Rosetta mission has, through its contiguous in-situ and remote sensing coverage of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P) over the time span of August 2014 to September 2016, monitored the emergence, culmination, and winding down of the gas and dust comae. This provided an unprecedented data set and has spurred a large effort to connect in-situ and remote sensing measurements to the surface. In this review, we address our current understanding of cometary activity and the challenges involved when linking comae data to the surface. We give the current state of research by describing what we know about the physical processes involved from the surface to a few tens of kilometres above it with respect to the gas and dust emission from cometary nuclei. Further, we describe how complex multidimensional cometary gas and dust models have developed from the Halley encounter of 1986 to today. This includes the study of inhomogeneous outgassing and determination of the gas and dust production rates. Additionally, the different approaches used and results obtained to link coma data to the surface will be discussed. We discuss forward and inversion models and we describe the limitations of the respective approaches. The current literature suggests that there does not seem to be a single uniform process behind cometary activity. Rather, activity seems to be the consequence of a variety of erosion processes, including the sublimation of both water ice and more volatile material, but possibly also more exotic processes such as fracture and cliff erosion under thermal and mechanical stress, sub-surface heat storage, and a complex interplay of these processes. Seasons and the nucleus shape are key factors for the distribution and temporal evolution of activity and imply that the heliocentric evolution of activity can be highly individual for every comet, and generalisations can be misleading. KW - comets KW - coma KW - gas KW - dust KW - dynamics KW - modelling KW - inversion Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00744-0 SN - 0038-6308 SN - 1572-9672 VL - 216 IS - 8 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kappel, David A1 - Sachse, Manuel A1 - Haack, David A1 - Otto, Katharina A. T1 - Discrete element modeling of boulder and cliff morphologies on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context: Even after the Rosetta mission, some of the mechanical parameters of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's surface material are not yet well constrained. These parameters are needed to improve our understanding of cometary activity or for planning sample return missions. Aims: We study some of the physical processes involved in the formation of selected surface features and investigate the mechanical and geometrical parameters involved. Methods: Applying the discrete element method (DEM) in a low-gravity environment, we numerically simulated the surface layer particle dynamics involved in the formation of selected morphological features. The material considered is a mixture of polydisperse ice and dust spheres with inter-particle forces given by the Hertz contact model, translational friction, rolling friction, cohesion from unsintered contacts, and optionally due to bonds from ice sintering. We determined a working set of parameters that enables the simulations to be reasonably realistic and investigated morphological changes due to modifications thereof. Results: The selected morphological features are reasonably well reproduced using model materials with a tensile strength on the order of 1-10 Pa. Increasing the diameters of the spherical particles decreases the material strength, and increasing the friction leads to a more brittle but somewhat stronger material. High friction is required to make the material sufficiently brittle to match observations, which points to the presence of very rough, even angular particles. Reasonable seismic activity does not suffice to trigger the collapses of cliffs without material heterogeneities or structural defects. Conclusions: DEM modeling can be a powerful tool to investigate mechanical parameters of cometary surface material. However, many uncertainties arise from our limited understanding of particle shapes, spatial configurations, and size distributions, all on multiple length scales. Further numerical work, in situ measurements, and sample return missions are needed to better understand the mechanics of cometary material and cometary activity. KW - comets: general KW - comets: individual: 67P KW - Churyumov-Gerasimenko KW - methods: numerical Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201937152 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 641 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Poch, Olivier A1 - Istiqomah, Istiqomah A1 - Quirico, Eric A1 - Beck, Pierre A1 - Schmitt, Bernard A1 - Theulé, Patrice A1 - Faure, Alexandre A1 - Hily-Blant, Pierre A1 - Bonal, Lydie A1 - Kappel, David T1 - Ammonium salts are a reservoir of nitrogen on a cometary nucleus and possibly on some asteroids JF - Science N2 - The measured nitrogen-to-carbon ratio in comets is lower than for the Sun, a discrepancy which could be alleviated if there is an unknown reservoir of nitrogen in comets. The nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko exhibits an unidentified broad spectral reflectance feature around 3.2 micrometers, which is ubiquitous across its surface. On the basis of laboratory experiments, we attribute this absorption band to ammonium salts mixed with dust on the surface. The depth of the band indicates that semivolatile ammonium salts are a substantial reservoir of nitrogen in the comet, potentially dominating over refractory organic matter and more volatile species. Similar absorption features appear in the spectra of some asteroids, implying a compositional link between asteroids, comets, and the parent interstellar cloud. KW - resolution infrared-spectroscopy KW - ice absorption features KW - young stellar objects KW - exposed water ice KW - MU-M KW - bidirectional reflectance KW - murchison meteorite KW - interstellar ice KW - spectra KW - surface Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw7462 SN - 1095-9203 SN - 0036-8075 VL - 367 IS - 6483 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - AAAS, American Association for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - GEN A1 - Poch, Olivier A1 - Istiqomah, Istiqomah A1 - Quirico, Eric A1 - Beck, Pierre A1 - Schmitt, Bernard A1 - Theulé, Patrice A1 - Faure, Alexandre A1 - Hily-Blant, Pierre A1 - Bonal, Lydie A1 - Kappel, David T1 - Ammonium salts are a reservoir of nitrogen on a cometary nucleus and possibly on some asteroids T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The measured nitrogen-to-carbon ratio in comets is lower than for the Sun, a discrepancy which could be alleviated if there is an unknown reservoir of nitrogen in comets. The nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko exhibits an unidentified broad spectral reflectance feature around 3.2 micrometers, which is ubiquitous across its surface. On the basis of laboratory experiments, we attribute this absorption band to ammonium salts mixed with dust on the surface. The depth of the band indicates that semivolatile ammonium salts are a substantial reservoir of nitrogen in the comet, potentially dominating over refractory organic matter and more volatile species. Similar absorption features appear in the spectra of some asteroids, implying a compositional link between asteroids, comets, and the parent interstellar cloud. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1389 KW - resolution infrared-spectroscopy KW - ice absorption features KW - young stellar objects KW - exposed water ice KW - MU-M KW - bidirectional reflectance KW - murchison meteorite KW - interstellar ice KW - spectra KW - surface Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-513751 SN - 1866-8372 N1 - This secondary publication was withdrawn for copyright reasons. IS - 6483 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rinaldi, G. A1 - Formisano, M. A1 - Kappel, David A1 - Capaccioni, F. A1 - Bockelee-Morvan, D. A1 - Cheng, Y-C A1 - Vincent, J-B A1 - Deshapriya, P. A1 - Arnold, G. A1 - Capria, M. T. A1 - Ciarniello, M. A1 - De Sanctis, M. C. A1 - Doose, L. A1 - Erard, S. A1 - Federico, C. A1 - Filacchione, G. A1 - Fink, U. A1 - Leyrat, C. A1 - Longobardo, A. A1 - Magni, G. A1 - Mighorini, A. A1 - Mottola, S. A1 - Naletto, G. A1 - Raponi, A. A1 - Taylor, F. A1 - Tosi, F. A1 - Tozzi, G. P. A1 - Salatti, M. T1 - Analysis of night-side dust activity on comet 67P observed by VIRTIS-M BT - a new method to constrain the thermal inertia on the surface JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - On 2015 July 18, near perihelion at a heliocentric distance of 1.28 au, the Visible InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS-M) on board the Rosetta spacecraft had the opportunity of observing dust activity in the inner coma with a view of the night side (shadowed side) of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. At the time of the measurements we present here, we observe a dust plume that originates on the far side of the nucleus. We are able to identify the approximate location of its source at the boundary between the Hapi and Anuket regions, and we find that it has been in darkness for some hours before the observation. Assuming that this time span is equal to the conductive time scale, we obtain a thermal inertia in the range 25-36 W K-1 m(-2) s(-1/2). These thermal inertia values can be used to verify with a 3D finite-element method (REM) numerical code whether the surface and subsurface temperatures agree with the values found in the literature. We explored three different configurations: (1) a layer of water ice mixed with dust beneath a dust mantle of 5 mm with thermal inertia of 36 J m(-2) K-1 S-0.5 ; (2) the same structure, but with thermal inertia of 100 J m(-2) K-1 S-0.5; (3) an ice-dust mixture that is directly exposed. Of these three configurations, the first seems to be the most reasonable, both for the low thermal inertia and for the agreement with the surface and subsurface temperatures that have been found for the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The spectral properties of the plume show that the visible dust color ranged from 16 +/- 4.8%/100 nm to 13 +/- 2.6%/100 nm, indicating that this plume has no detectable color gradient. The morphology of the plume can be classified as a narrow jet that has an estimated total ejected mass of between 6 and 19 tons when we assume size distribution indices between -2.5 and -3. KW - comets: general KW - comets: individual: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko KW - infrared: planetary systems Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201834907 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 630 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tubiana, C. A1 - Rinaldi, G. A1 - Guettler, C. A1 - Snodgrass, C. A1 - Shi, X. A1 - Hu, X. A1 - Marschall, R. A1 - Fulle, M. A1 - Bockeele-Morvan, D. A1 - Naletto, G. A1 - Capaccioni, F. A1 - Sierks, H. A1 - Arnold, G. A1 - Barucci, M. A. A1 - Bertaux, J-L A1 - Bertini, I A1 - Bodewits, D. A1 - Capria, M. T. A1 - Ciarniello, M. A1 - Cremonese, G. A1 - Crovisier, J. A1 - Da Deppo, V A1 - Debei, S. A1 - De Cecco, M. A1 - Deller, J. A1 - De Sanctis, M. C. A1 - Davidsson, B. A1 - Doose, L. A1 - Erard, S. A1 - Filacchione, G. A1 - Fink, U. A1 - Formisano, M. A1 - Fornasier, S. A1 - Gutierrez, P. J. A1 - Ip, W-H A1 - Ivanovski, S. A1 - Kappel, David A1 - Keller, H. U. A1 - Kolokolova, L. A1 - Koschny, D. A1 - Krueger, H. A1 - La Forgia, F. A1 - Lamy, P. L. A1 - Lara, L. M. A1 - Lazzarin, M. A1 - Levasseur-Regourd, A. C. A1 - Lin, Z-Y A1 - Longobardo, A. A1 - Lopez-Moreno, J. J. A1 - Marzari, F. A1 - Migliorini, A. A1 - Mottola, S. A1 - Rodrigo, R. A1 - Taylor, F. A1 - Toth, I A1 - Zakharov, V T1 - Diurnal variation of dust and gas production in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at the inbound equinox as seen by OSIRIS and VIRTIS-M on board Rosetta JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. On 27 April 2015, when comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was at 1.76 au from the Sun and moving toward perihelion, the OSIRIS and VIRTIS-M instruments on board the Rosetta spacecraft simultaneously observed the evolving dust and gas coma during a complete rotation of the comet. Aims. We aim to characterize the spatial distribution of dust, H2O, and CO2 gas in the inner coma. To do this, we performed a quantitative analysis of the release of dust and gas and compared the observed H2O production rate with the rate we calculated using a thermophysical model. Methods. For this study we selected OSIRIS WAC images at 612 nm (dust) and VIRTIS-M image cubes at 612 nm, 2700 nm (H2O emission band), and 4200 nm (CO2 emission band). We measured the average signal in a circular annulus to study the spatial variation around the comet, and in a sector of the annulus to study temporal variation in the sunward direction with comet rotation, both at a fixed distance of 3.1 km from the comet center. Results. The spatial correlation between dust and water, both coming from the sunlit side of the comet, shows that water is the main driver of dust activity in this time period. The spatial distribution of CO2 is not correlated with water and dust. There is no strong temporal correlation between the dust brightness and water production rate as the comet rotates. The dust brightness shows a peak at 0 degrees subsolar longitude, which is not pronounced in the water production. At the same epoch, there is also a maximum in CO2 production. An excess of measured water production with respect to the value calculated using a simple thermophysical model is observed when the head lobe and regions of the southern hemisphere with strong seasonal variations are illuminated (subsolar longitude 270 degrees-50 degrees). A drastic decrease in dust production when the water production (both measured and from the model) displays a maximum occurs when typical northern consolidated regions are illuminated and the southern hemisphere regions with strong seasonal variations are instead in shadow (subsolar longitude 50 degrees-90 degrees). Possible explanations of these observations are presented and discussed. KW - comets: general KW - comets: individual: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko KW - methods: data analysis Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201834869 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 630 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tosi, Federico A1 - Capaccioni, F. A1 - Capria, M. T. A1 - Mottola, Stefano A1 - Zinzi, A. A1 - Ciarniello, M. A1 - Filacchione, G. A1 - Hofstadter, M. A1 - Fonti, S. A1 - Formisano, M. A1 - Kappel, David A1 - Kührt, E. A1 - Leyrat, C. A1 - Vincent, J-B A1 - Arnold, G. A1 - De Sanctis, M. C. A1 - Longobardo, Andrea A1 - Palomba, E. A1 - Raponi, A. A1 - Rousseau, Batiste A1 - Schmitt, Bernard A1 - Barucci, Maria Antonietta A1 - Bellucci, Giancarlo A1 - Benkhoff, Johannes A1 - Bockelee-Morvan, D. A1 - Cerroni, P. A1 - Combe, J-Ph A1 - Despan, D. A1 - Erard, Stéphane A1 - Mancarella, F. A1 - McCord, T. B. A1 - Migliorini, Alessandra A1 - Orofino, V A1 - Piccioni, G. T1 - The changing temperature of the nucleus of comet 67P induced by morphological and seasonal effects JF - Nature astronomy N2 - Knowledge of the surface temperature distribution on a comet’s nucleus and its temporal evolution at different timescales is key to constraining its thermophysical properties and understanding the physical processes that take place at and below the surface. Here we report on time-resolved maps of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko retrieved on the basis of infrared data acquired by the Visible InfraRed and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) onboard the Rosetta orbiter in 2014, over a roughly two-month period in the pre-perihelion phase at heliocentric distances between 3.62 and 3.31 au from the Sun. We find that at a spatial resolution ≤15 m per pixel, the measured temperatures point out the major effect that self-heating, due to the complex shape of the nucleus, has on the diurnal temperature variation. The bilobate nucleus of comet 67P also induces daytime shadowing effects, which result in large thermal gradients. Over longer periods, VIRTIS-derived temperature values reveal seasonal changes driven by decreasing heliocentric distance combined with an increasing abundance of ice within the uppermost centimetre-thick layer, which implies the possibility of having a largely pristine nucleus interior already in the shallow subsurface Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0740-0 SN - 2397-3366 VL - 3 IS - 7 SP - 649 EP - 658 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Filacchione, Gianrico A1 - Groussin, Olivier A1 - Herny, Clemence A1 - Kappel, David A1 - Mottola, Stefano A1 - Oklay, Nilda A1 - Pommerol, Antoine A1 - Wright, Ian A1 - Yoldi, Zurine A1 - Ciarniello, Mauro A1 - Moroz, Lyuba A1 - Raponi, Andrea T1 - Comet 67P/CG Nucleus Composition and Comparison to Other Comets JF - Space science reviews N2 - We review our current knowledge of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko nucleus composition as inferred from measurements made by remote sensing and in-situ instruments aboard Rosetta orbiter and Philae lander. Spectrophotometric properties (albedos, color indexes and Hapke parameters) of 67P/CG derived by Rosetta are discussed in the context of other comets previously explored by space missions. Composed of an assemblage made of ices, organic materials and minerals, cometary nuclei exhibit very dark and red surfaces which can be described by means of spectrophotometric quantities and reproduced with laboratory measurements. The presence of surface water and carbon dioxide ices was found by Rosetta to occur at localized sites where the activity driven by solar input, gaseous condensation or exposure of pristine inner layers can maintain these species on the surface. Apart from these specific areas, 67P/CG’s surface appears remarkably uniform in composition with a predominance of organic materials and minerals. The organic compounds contain abundant hydroxyl group and a refractory macromolecular material bearing aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. The mineral components are compatible with a mixture of silicates and fine-grained opaques, including Fe-sulfides, like troilite and pyrrhotite, and ammoniated salts. In the vicinity of the perihelion several active phenomena, including the erosion of surface layers, the localized activity in cliffs, fractures and pits, the collapse of overhangs and walls, the transfer and redeposition of dust, cause the evolution of the different regions of the nucleus by inducing color, composition and texture changes. KW - Comets KW - Composition KW - Ices KW - Organic matter KW - Minerals Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-019-0580-3 SN - 0038-6308 SN - 1572-9672 VL - 215 IS - 19 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rousseau, Batiste A1 - Erard, Stéphane A1 - Beck, P. A1 - Quirico, Eric A1 - Schmitt, B. A1 - Brissaud, O. A1 - Montes-Hernandez, G. A1 - Capaccioni, F. A1 - Filacchione, Gianrico A1 - Bockelee-Morvan, Dominique A1 - Leyrat, C. A1 - Ciarniello, M. A1 - Raponi, Andrea A1 - Kappel, David A1 - Arnold, G. A1 - Moroz, L. V. A1 - Palomba, Ernesto A1 - Tosi, Federico T1 - Laboratory simulations of the Vis-NIR spectra of comet 67P using sub-mu m sized cosmochemical analogues JF - Icarus : international journal of solar system studies N2 - Laboratory spectral measurements of relevant analogue materials were performed in the framework of the Rosetta mission in order to explain the surface spectral properties of comet 67P. Fine powders of coal, iron sulphides, silicates and their mixtures were prepared and their spectra measured in the Vis-IR range. These spectra are compared to a reference spectrum of 67P nucleus obtained with the VIRTIS/Rosetta instrument up to 2.7 mu m, excluding the organics band centred at 3.2 mu m. The species used are known to be chemical analogues for cometary materials which could be present at the surface of 67P. Grain sizes of the powders range from tens of nanometres to hundreds of micrometres. Some of the mixtures studied here actually reach the very low reflectance level observed by VIRTIS on 67P. The best match is provided by a mixture of sub-micron coal, pyrrhotite, and silicates. Grain sizes are in agreement with the sizes of the dust particles detected by the GIADA, MIDAS and COSIMA instruments on board Rosetta. The coal used in the experiment is responsible for the spectral slope in the visible and infrared ranges. Pyrrhotite, which is strongly absorbing, is responsible for the low albedo observed in the NIR. The darkest components dominate the spectra, especially within intimate mixtures. Depending on sample preparation, pyrrhotite can coat the coal and silicate aggregates. Such coating effects can affect the spectra as much as particle size. In contrast, silicates seem to play a minor role. (c) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. KW - Comets KW - Comets nucleus KW - Comets composition KW - Spectroscopy KW - Experimental techniques Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.10.015 SN - 0019-1035 SN - 1090-2643 VL - 306 SP - 306 EP - 318 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER -