Origin and Evolution of Comets: Ten Years After the Nice Model and One Year After Rosetta (Advances in Planetary Science)

374 Pages·29.685 MB·English

by  Rickman, Hans

Advances in Planetary Science – Vol. 2
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF
COMETS
Ten Years after the Nice Model and One Year after Rosetta
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Advances in Planetary Science
Series Editor: Wing-Huen Ip (National Central University, Taiwan)
Published
Vol. 2 Origin and Evolution of Comets:
Ten Years after the Nice Model and One Year after Rosetta
by Hans Rickman
Vol. 1 Nuclear Planetary Science: Planetary Science Based on Gamma-Ray,
Neutron and X-Ray Spectroscopy
by Nobuyuki Hasebe, Kyeong Ja Kim, Eido Shibamura and
Kunitomo Sakurai
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Advances in Planetary Science – Vol. 2
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF
COMETS
Ten Years after the Nice Model and One Year after Rosetta
Hans Rickman
Uppsala University, Sweden & PAS Space Research Center, Poland
World Scientific
NEW JERSEY • LONDON • SINGAPORE • BEIJING • SHANGHAI • HONG KONG • TAIPEI • CHENNAI • TOKYO
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Published by
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224
USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Rickman, H. (Hans), author.
Title: Origin and evolution of comets : ten years after the Nice model and
one year after Rosetta / Hans Rickman (Uppsala University, Sweden &
Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland).
Description: Singapore ; Hackensack, NJ : World Scientific, [2017] | Series:
Advances in planetary science ; volume 2 | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017010483| ISBN 9789813222571 (hard cover ; alk. paper) |
ISBN 9813222573 (hard cover ; alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Comets--History.
Classification: LCC QB721 .R634 2017 | DDC 523.6/6--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017010483
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copyright © 2018 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
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Preface
InAugust2005,theinternationalresearchcommunityconcerningthe
small bodies of the solar system gathered for the triennial Asteroids,
Comets, Meteors meeting in the small seaside resort of Buzios north
ofRiodeJaneiro,Brazil.IrememberwithpleasuretheniceBrazilian
winter and the interesting discussions we had around the hot topics
of those days. The one thing that stands out in my recollections is
thefirstnewsoftheNice Model—thetermhadnotyetbeencoined,
but it was immediately clear that this was extremely important.
Something else, which did not attract so much attention while being
apotentialtimebombforthefuture,wasthefactthatESA’sRosetta
probewasonitswaytowarditsasteroidalandcometary targetssince
more than a year.
Of course, the Nice Model is principally about planets and, at
least for myself, its repercussions for cometary science took some
time to grasp. But today it is practically impossible to discuss the
origin and early evolution of comets without reference to the Nice
Model. In addition, after all, according to this scenario, comets
were the real arbiters of the planetary system in the early days,
when they governed the dynamics of the giant planets by their
collectivegravitationaleffects.Wecalltheseicyplanetesimalsinstead
of comets, but it is the same objects that nowadays populate the
Oort Cloud, the Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt and the Scattered Disk.
v
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vi Origin and Evolution of Comets
It is worth emphasizing that the central theme of the Nice Model
remainsunchanged,buttherearemanyvariations aroundthistheme
with different implications for the comets. To account for this was
one of my goals when writing this book.
ConcerningRosetta, I was involved from the very beginning,and
I played a part in the OSIRIS camera team largely by procuring
the filters. I hence had a personal involvement and lived through
the mission with my own personal hopes and worries. The mission
concept was novel and daring, and people like myself who were
not born optimists had a hard time realizing what was actually
to come. But, eventually, the time bomb did burst, and it felt like
a two-year long roller coaster ride. So many discoveries, so many
stunning images, thanks to the sterling work by all involved! This
is an experience that may rightly be called a privilege to have been
part of.
Now, after the end of the mission, it is time to assess what
we have learned. I am convinced that, one day, this will be done
and our knowledge about comets will take a big step forward.
However, I cannot reach such an ambitious goal in this book. For the
moment, the big picture remains too dim, at least to my mind. In all
modesty, I can only present some preliminary ideas and impressions
that may be right or wrong. Hopefully, together with those of my
internationalcolleagues,theywillbefoodforthoughtanddiscussion,
awaiting the final breakthrough.
In the meantime, this book can be used as an introduction to
cometary science from the perspective of origins and evolution. It
is not intended to be a full account of the whole subject, and even
important results may occasionally have been left out in the interest
of brevity, to avoid boring the reader with too much details. While
tryingtobefair,Ididnotstrivetogive equalweighttoallideasorto
downplay the natural bias toward my own opinions. The interested
reader will find enough references to published literature in order to
pursue any specific quest that may arise.
Letmefinallyexpressmy heart-felt thankstoTomek Wi´sniowski
for invaluable help with many of the illustrations, as well as Mike
A’Hearn, Bj¨orn Davidsson, Gerhard Hahn, Alessandro Morbidelli
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Preface vii
and Giovanni Valsecchi for helpful discussions. Above all, this book
could hardly exist without the patience of my wife Boz˙enna, who,
practically withoutcomplaint,enduredayearofhardshipwhenIwas
busy writing all the time.
Arboga, 3 February, 2017,
Hans Rickman
b2530 International Strategic Relations and China’s National Security: World at the Crossroads
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Contents
Preface v
1. Introduction 1
1.1. What is a Comet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2. Comet Designations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3. Discovery Bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4. Comet Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5. Lessons from Space Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2. Physical and Chemical Properties 39
2.1. Size Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.2. Brightness and Gas/Dust Production . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.3. Light Curves and Gas Production Curves . . . . . . . . 53
2.4. Albedo and Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.5. Structure, Density and Porosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
2.6. Chemical Nature of Comets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3. Comet Dynamics 107
3.1. Circular Restricted Three-body Problem . . . . . . . . . 107
3.2. Close Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
3.3. Lidov–Kozai Cycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
3.4. Stellar Perturbations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
ix