English

The 16OH/18OH and OD/OH isotope ratios in comet C/2002 T7 (LINEAR)

Astrophysics 2009-11-13 v1

Abstract

The 16OH/18OH and OD/OH isotope ratios are measured in the Oort-Cloud comet C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) through ground-based observations of the OH ultraviolet bands at 3063 A (0,0) and 3121 A (1,1) secured with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) feeding the Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES). From the 16OH/18OH ratio, we find 16O/18O = 425 +/- 55, equal within the uncertainties to the terrestrial value and to the ratio measured in other comets, although marginally smaller. We also estimate OD/OH from which we derive D/H = 2.5 +/- 0.7 10-4 in water. This value is compatible with the water D/H ratios evaluated in other comets and marginally higher than the terrestrial value.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0809.4300,
  title  = {The 16OH/18OH and OD/OH isotope ratios in comet C/2002 T7 (LINEAR)},
  author = {D. Hutsemekers and J. Manfroid and E. Jehin and J. -M. Zucconi and C. Arpigny},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0809.4300},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

Accepted for publication in A&A Letters