Infrared Spectra of Comets as a Barometer for Their Evolution

2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21340040
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Astronomy
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: KIMURA Hiroshi 神戸大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 学術研究員 (10400011)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KOBAYASHI Hiroshi 名古屋大学, 大学院・理学研究科, 特任助教 (40422761) ; WADA Koji 千葉工業大学, 惑星探査研究センター, 上席研究員 (10396856)
• Project Period (FY): 2009-04-01 – 2014-03-31
• Keywords: 光学赤外線天文学 / モデル化 / 理論天文学 / 惑星起源・進化 / 彗星 / ダスト

Research Abstract

We have found that the fractal dimension of aggregated dust particles in comets determines the strength of peaks characteristic of olivine detected in the infrared spectra of dust in cometary comae, while the volume fraction and carbonization of organic refractory material in the dust aggregates play an important role in the determination of the peak wavelengths. Furthermore, both an increase in the fractal dimension and the carbonization of organic refractory material are associated with the formation of a dust mantle on the surface of a comet. Therefore, the infrared spectra of cometary comae can be regarded as a barometer of the evolution of comets as well as the alteration of comet grain properties. Since the processing of comet dust proceeds with the orbit of the parent-body comet, we expect that a thorough analysis of infrared data will reveal a correlation between the spectral features characteristic of olivine and the orbital semi-major axes of comets.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] The organic-rich carbonaceous component of dust aggregates in circumstellar disks : Effects of its carbonization on infrared spectral features of its magnesium-rich olivine counterpart (2014)
  • Author(s): Kimura, H.
  • Journal Title: Icarus Volume: 232 Pages: 133-140
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2014.01.009
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Growth efficiency of dust aggregates through collisions with high mass ratios (2013)
  • Author(s): Wada, K., Tanaka, H., Okuzumi, S., Kobayashi, H., Suyama, T., Kimura, H., and Yamamoto, T.
  • Journal Title: Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume: 559 Pages: A62(8)
  • DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201322259
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] The reincarnation of interstellar dust : The importance of organic refractory material in infrared spectra of cometary comae and circumstellar disks (2013)
  • Author(s): Kimura, H.
  • Journal Title: The Astrophysical Journal Letters Volume: 775 Pages: L18(5)
  • DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/775/1/L18
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Dust mantle of comet 9P/Tempel 1 : Dynamical constraints on physical properties (2013)
  • Author(s): Kobayashi, H., Kimura, H., and Yamamoto, S.
  • Journal Title: Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume: 550 Pages: A72(4)
  • DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201220464
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] The rebound condition of dust aggregates revealed by numerical simulation of their collisions (2011)
  • Author(s): Wada, K., Tanaka, H., Suyama, T., Kimura, H., and Yamamoto, T.
  • Journal Title: The Astrophysical Journal Volume: 737 Pages: 36(12)
  • DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/737/1/36
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Low-temperature crystallization of amorphous silicate in astrophysical environments (2010)
  • Author(s): Tanaka, K. K., Yamamoto, T., and Kimura, H.
  • Journal Title: The Astrophysical Journal Volume: 717 Pages: 586-596
  • DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/586
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Effects of electromagnetic interaction in the polarization of light scattered by cometary and other types of cosmic dust (2010)
  • Author(s): Kolokolova, L. and Kimura, H.
  • Journal Title: Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume: 513 Pages: A40(4)
  • DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/200913681
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Validity criteria of the discrete dipole approximation (2010)
  • Author(s): Zubko, E., Petrov, D., Grynko, Y., Shkuratov, Y., Okamoto, H., Muinonen, K., Nousiainen, T., Kimura, H., Yamamoto, T., and Videen, G.
  • Journal Title: Applied Optics Volume: 49 Pages: 1267-1279
  • DOI: 10.1364/AO.49.001267
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Nonthermal crystallization of amorphous silicates in comets (2010)
  • Author(s): Yamamoto, T., Chigai, T., Kimura, H., and Tanaka, K. K.
  • Journal Title: Earth, Planets and Space Volume: 62(1) Pages: 23-27
  • DOI: 10.5047/eps.2008.11.002
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Comet dust as a mixture of aggregates and solid particles : model consistent with ground-based and space-mission results (2010)
  • Author(s): Kolokolova, L. and Kimura, H.
  • Journal Title: Earth, Planets and Space Volume: 62(1) Pages: 17-21
  • DOI: 10.5047/eps.2008.12.001
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Collisional process on Comet 9/P Tempel 1 : Mass loss of its dust and ices by impacts of asteroidal objects and its collisional history (2010)
  • Author(s): Yamamoto, S., Wada, K., Kobayashi, H., Kimura, H., Ishiguro, M., and Matsui, T.
  • Journal Title: Earth, Planets and Space Volume: 62(1) Pages: 5-11
  • DOI: 10.5047/eps.2008.11.003
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Collisional growth conditions for dust aggregates (2009)
  • Author(s): Wada, K., Tanaka, H., Suyama, T., Kimura, H., and Yamamoto, T.
  • Journal Title: The Astrophysical Journal Volume: 702 Pages: 1490-1501
  • DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/702/2/1490
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Effect of absorption on light scattering by agglomerated debris particles (2009)
  • Author(s): Zubko, E., Kimura, H., Shkuratov, Yu., Muinonen, K., Yamamoto, T., Okamoto, H., and Videen, G.
  • Journal Title: Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer Volume: 110 Pages: 1741-1749
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jqsrt.2008.12.006
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Dust Property on the Nucleus Surfaces of Short-Period Comets (2012)
  • Author(s): Kobayashi, H., Kimura, H., and Yamamoto, S.
  • Organizer: Cosmic Dust
  • Place of Presentation: Kobe, Japan
  • Year and Date: 20120806-10
• [Presentation] Numerical Simulation of Collisions of Dust Aggregates Composed of Particles with Size Distributions (2012)
  • Author(s): Wada, K., Tanaka, H., Suyama, T., Kimura, H., and Yamamoto, T.
  • Organizer: Dust and Grains in Low Gravity and Space Environment
  • Place of Presentation: Noordwijk, The Netherlands
  • Year and Date: 20120402-04
• [Presentation] Dust in the Local Interstellar Cloud (2011)
  • Author(s): Kimura, H.
  • Organizer: International Conference on Interstellar Dust
  • Place of Presentation: Molecules and Chemistry, Pune, India
  • Year and Date: 20111122-25
• [Presentation] Photopolarimetric Phenomena at Scattering of Light by Aggregated Dust Particles (2011)
  • Author(s): Kolokolova, L., Kimura, H., and Petrova, E.
  • Organizer: Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 8th Annual Meeting
  • Place of Presentation: Taipei, Taiwan
  • Year and Date: 20110808-12
• [Presentation] The Reincarnation of Interstellar Dust in Cometary Comae and Debris Disks : Its Evidence in Their Infrared Spectra (2011)
  • Author(s): Kimura, H.
  • Organizer: Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 8th Annual Meeting
  • Place of Presentation: Taipei, Taiwan
  • Year and Date: 20110808-12
• [Presentation] Growth Efficiency of Dust Aggregates Through Collisions with a Great Difference in Their Sizes (2011)
  • Author(s): Wada, K., Tanaka, H., Suyama, T., Kimura, H., and Yamamoto, T.
  • Organizer: 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
  • Place of Presentation: The Woodlands, Texas, USA
  • Year and Date: 20110307-11
• [Presentation] The Porosity and Composition of Dust in Different Cosmic Environments Studied Through Its Spectral Dependence of Polarization (2010)
  • Author(s): Kolokolova, L. and Kimura, H.
  • Organizer: Asia Oceania Geosciences Society 7th Annual Meeting
  • Place of Presentation: Hyderabad, India
  • Year and Date: 20100705-09
• [Presentation] Collisional Growth Possibility of Dust Aggregates : A Bouncing Problem (2010)
  • Author(s): Wada, K., Tanaka, H., Suyama, T., Kimura, H., and Yamamoto, T.
  • Organizer: 41th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
  • Place of Presentation: The Woodlands, Texas, USA
  • Year and Date: 20100301-05
• [Book] Effects of interaction of electromagnetic waves in complex particles, In Electromagnetic Waves (2011)
  • Author(s): Kolokolova, L., Petrova, E., and Kimura, H.
  • Publisher: InTech
• [Remarks]
  • URL: https://www.cps-jp.org/~lisa
• [Remarks]
  • URL: https://www.cps-jp.org/~dust