The destruction of cometary grains and changes in the luminosity of comets

We suggest that in the rare case of an Intermediate-Luminosity Optical Transient (ILOTs) event, evaporation of extra-solar Kuiper belt objects (ExtraKBOs) at distances of d ≈ 500 − 10000 AU from the ILOT can be detected. If the ILOT lasts for 1 month to a few years, enough dust might be ejected from the ExtraKBOs for the IR emission to be detected. Because of the large distance of the ExtraKBOs, tens of years will pass before the ILOT wind disperses the dust. We suggest that after an ILOT outburst there is a period of months to several years during which IR excess emission might hint at the existence of a Kuiper belt analog (ExtraK-Belt).

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“…We integrate eq. 3 and derive (e.g., Gombosi et al 1985;Lichtenegger & Komle 1991;Prialnik 2006;Gronkowski 2009b)…”

Section: Vapor Pressurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…where H is the latent heat (enthalpy) of sublimation (calculated from Table 1). We integrate Equation (3) and derive (e.g., Gombosi et al 1985;Lichtenegger & Komle 1991;Prialnik 2006;Gronkowski 2009b)…”

Section: Vapor Pressurementioning

confidence: 99%

Using Intermediate-Luminosity Optical Transients (ILOTs) to reveal extended extra-solar Kuiper belt objects

Bear

Soker

2016

Res. Astron. Astrophys.

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“…Opik (1956) investigated the electrostatic disruption (or Coulomb explosion) of dust grains, where the electrostatic stress of a body holding a net charge exceeds its mechanical tensile strength (the maximum stress or pressure that a material can withstand while being pulled), resulting in it fracturing. See also Rhee (1976), Hill & Mendis (1981), Fomenkova & Mendis (1992), Rosenberg & Mendis (1992), Gronkowski (2009), among others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhomogeneous cloud coverage through the Coulomb explosion of dust in substellar atmospheres

Stark

Helling

Diver

2015

A&A

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Context. Recent observations of brown dwarf spectroscopic variability in the infrared infer the presence of patchy cloud cover. Aims. This paper proposes a mechanism for producing inhomogeneous cloud coverage due to the depletion of cloud particles through the Coulomb explosion of dust in atmospheric plasma regions. Charged dust grains Coulomb-explode when the electrostatic stress of the grain exceeds its mechanical tensile stress, which results in grains below a critical radius a < a Coul crit being broken up. Methods. This work outlines the criteria required for the Coulomb explosion of dust clouds in substellar atmospheres, the effect on the dust particle size distribution function, and the resulting radiative properties of the atmospheric regions. Results. Our results show that for an atmospheric plasma region with an electron temperature of T e = 10 eV (≈10 5 K), the critical grain radius varies from 10 −7 to 10 −4 cm, depending on the grains' tensile strength. Higher critical radii up to 10 −3 cm are attainable for higher electron temperatures. We find that the process produces a bimodal particle size distribution composed of stable nanoscale seed particles and dust particles with a ≥ a Coul crit , with the intervening particle sizes defining a region devoid of dust. As a result, the dust population is depleted, and the clouds become optically thin in the wavelength range 0.1-10 μm, with a characteristic peak that shifts to higher wavelengths as more sub-micrometer particles are destroyed. Conclusions. In an atmosphere populated with a distribution of plasma volumes, this will yield regions of contrasting radiative properties, thereby giving a source of inhomogeneous cloud coverage. The results presented here may also be relevant for dust in supernova remnants and protoplanetary disks.

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The destruction of cometary grains and changes in the luminosity of comets

Cited by 2 publications

References 30 publications

Using Intermediate-Luminosity Optical Transients (ILOTs) to reveal extended extra-solar Kuiper belt objects

Using Intermediate-Luminosity Optical Transients (ILOTs) to reveal extended extra-solar Kuiper belt objects

Inhomogeneous cloud coverage through the Coulomb explosion of dust in substellar atmospheres

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