Related papers: Expectations for the Deep Impact collision from co…

We developed a thermophysical model for cometary nuclei, which is based upon the assumption that comets form by the gravitational instability of an ensemble of dust and ice aggregates. Under this condition, the tensile strength of the…

In order to improve our understanding of the kinetics of the cometary coma, theoretical studies of the major reactive collisions in these environments are needed. Deep in the collisional coma, inelastic collisions between thermal electrons…

Impacts from icy and rocky bodies have helped shape the composition of solar system objects, for example the Earth-Moon system, or the recent impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. It is likely that such impacts also shape the…

Recent observations show activity in long-period comet C/2017 K2 at heliocentric distances beyond the orbit of Uranus. With this as motivation, we constructed a simple model that takes a detailed account of gas transport modes and simulates…

Comets and small Kuiper belt objects are considered to be among the most primitive objects in the solar system as comets like C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp are rich in highly volatile ices like CO. It has been suggested that early in the solar system…

We use a fully 3-dimensional thermal evolution model to examine the effects of a non-uniform surface albedo on the subsurface thermal structure of comets. Surface albedo markings cast "thermal shadows", with strong lateral thermal…

Some consequences of hypervelocity impact onto the comet Tempel 1 nucleus are considered under assumption that SP comets are fragments of massive icy envelopes of Ganymede-like bodies saturated by products of ice electrolysis that underwent…

Comets are small bodies thought to contain the most pristine material in the solar system. However, since their formation 4.5 Gy ago, they have been altered by different processes. While not exposed to much electromagnetic radiation, they…

Large and deep depressions, also known as pits, are observed at the surface of all Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) imaged by spacecraft missions. They offer the opportunity to glimpse into sub-surface characteristics of comet nuclei, and study…

The Rosetta mission and its exquisite measurements have revived the debate on whether comets are pristine planetesimals or collisionally evolved objects. We investigate the collisional evolution experienced by the precursors of current…

We present a comprehensive reassessment of the region containing the large smooth patch on comet 9P/Tempel 1, leveraging data from the Deep Impact and Stardust-NExT missions, an updated stereophotoclinometry-based shape model, and numerical…

We present a fully integrated model of comet evolution that couples thermal and compositional processes with dynamical processes continuously, from formation to present-day activity. The combined code takes into account changes in orbital…

The future electron-ion collider (EIC) will produce the first-ever high energy collisions between electrons and a wide range of nuclei, opening a new era in the study of cold nuclear matter. Quarks and gluons produced in these collisions…

We simulate the stresses induced by temperature changes in a putative hard layer near the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko with a thermo-viscoelastic model. Such a layer could be formed by the recondensation or sintering of water…

We present the first dataset of collisional (de)-excitation rate coefficients of HCN induced by CO, one of the main perturbing gases in cometary atmospheres. The dataset spans the temperature range of 5-50 K. It includes both state-to-state…

We extend previous results showing that the surfaces of Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt objects are not primordial and have been moderately to heavily reworked by collisions. Objects smaller than about $r = 2.5$ km have collisional disruption…

There is an active debate about whether the properties of comets as observed today are primordial or, alternatively, if they are a result of collisional evolution or other processes. We investigate the effects of collisions on a comet with…

The first computational model of solid-phase chemistry in cometary nuclear ices is presented. An astrochemical kinetics model, MAGICKAL, is adapted to trace the chemical evolution in multiple layers of cometary ice, over a representative…

We analyze findings of the Stardust mission that brought to the Earth dust from the 81P/Wild 2 coma. Just as the data of the Deep Impact mission to 9P/Tempel 1, they are at odds with the widely accepted condensation/sublimation comet…

We have run high-resolution, three-dimensional, hydrodynamic simulations of the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into the atmosphere of Jupiter. We find that the energy deposition profile is largely similar to the previous two-dimensional…