FORMATION OF SMALL WATER CLUSTERS IN THE NEAR-NUCLEUS ATMOSPHERE OF A COMET

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Abstract

The results of a theoretical study of the formation and decay of water clusters in cometary atmospheres are presented. A model for the formation of small water clusters is developed based on a quasi-chemical approach. The physical conditions for the formation and growth of clusters in near-nucleus coma are analyzed, depending on the distance of the cometary nucleus from the Sun, and possible mechanisms for cluster formation. Using the developed clustering model and the direct statistical Monte Carlo simulation method, calculations are performed for the outflow of water molecules sublimated from the surface of the cometary nucleus into vacuum. For the case of homogeneous condensation, using the nucleus of comet 46P/Wirtanen as an example, a small fraction of clusters (less than 0.1%) is determined for a cometary distance of 2.5 AU from the Sun for various distributions of gas production over the surface. The coordinated motion of small clusters and monomers is demonstrated.

About the authors

N. Y Bykov

Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University

Email: nbykov2006@yandex.ru
Saint-Petersburg, Russia

V. V Zakharov

Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité

LIRA, Observatoire de Paris Meudon, France

I. S Tomilin

Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University

Saint-Petersburg, Russia

A. S Sklyarova

Peter the Great Saint-Petersburg Polytechnic University

Saint-Petersburg, Russia

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