The interaction of the solar wind with a comet

Biermann, L.; Brosowski, Bruno; Schmidt, H. U.

doi:10.1007/bf00150860

Cited by 333 publications

(166 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The cometary bow shock, on the other hand, forms purely as a result of the mass-loading process. As first shown by Biermann et al (1967), steady-state mass-loading of the solar wind by the cometary ions proceeds only as long as the normalized mass flux, x = (/9M//°OO«OO) (where the subscript oo refers to quantities far from the comet in the undisturbed solar wind), remains at less than a critical value. Before this value is attained, a shock wave moves upstream from the comet to divert the flow around the cometary atmosphere.…”

Section: Bow Shockmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The steady-state solar wind flow with mass-loading due to the cometary ions can be described by the following magnetohydrodynamic conservation equations valid along the Sun-comet axis (Biermann et al, 1967):…”

Section: Bow Shockmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Originally, the cometary bow shock was believed to be strong, with a Mach number (M) of about 10, analogous to the case of the Earth's bow shock (Biermann et al, 1967). Wallis (1973), however, suggested that because the upstream solar wind plasma is heated and decelerated due to mass-loading, the cometary bow shock should be weak, with M = 2 or even nonexistent due to charge-exchange cooling (Wallis and Dryer, 1985).…”

Section: Bow Shockmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Global Interaction of Comets with the Solar Wind

Flammer

1991

International Astronomical Union Colloquium

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ABSTRACT. The global interaction of the solar wind with a comet as it orbits the Sun is reviewed. After a brief survey of the flow transition regions observed at comet Halley is presented, theoretical models are given for the cometocentric distance of the bow shock, the cometopause, and the ionopause. In addition, predictions are made as to what heliocentric distance these boundaries should form at. The results of these models are compared with the in situ observations at comet Halley.

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Section: Bow Shockmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Bow Shockmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bow Shockmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Global Interaction of Comets with the Solar Wind

Flammer

1991

International Astronomical Union Colloquium

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“…The position of the bow shock R bs relative to the comet as function of heliocentric distance is compared with an analytical formula derived by Biermann et al (1967). Assuming a stationary flow in an axial-symmetric 1 D model of the solar wind the mass flux equation reads (Biermann et al 1967) …”

Section: Shocks and Cometary Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assuming a stationary flow in an axial-symmetric 1 D model of the solar wind the mass flux equation reads (Biermann et al 1967) …”

Section: Shocks and Cometary Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global plasma-parameter simulation of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko approaching the Sun

Gortsas

Motschmann

Kührt

et al. 2010

A&A

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We simulate the evolution of the plasma environment of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (CG), which is the target comet of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta mission, as the comet approaches the Sun. The plasma environment is calculated in three dimensions with a hybrid plasma model. The model treats the dynamics of the solar wind protons and the cometary ions in the framework of the macroparticle approach while the electrons are treated as a massless, charge-neutralizing fluid. The simulation starts at 4.2 AU and finishes at 1.3 AU. The outgassing strength of the comet is calculated from a thermal nucleus model. The model accounts for heat conduction, heat advection, gas diffusion, sublimation, and condensation processes in a porous ice-dust matrix with moving boundaries. The movement of the boundaries (Stefan problem) is accounted for by a temperature remapping technique. The maxima of the cometary ion flux and of the magnetic field in the simulation domain are presented as functions of heliocentric distance. The bow shock (BS), the ion composition boundary (ICB), and the magnetic pileup boundary (MPB) position along the Sun-comet line as a function of heliocentric distance are also discussed. A comparison of the BS position with an analytical formula yields good agreement. The MPB and the ICB along the Sun-comet line coincide.

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Modeling solar wind mass‐loading in the vicinity of the Sun using 3‐D MHD simulations

et al. 2014

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[1] Collisionless shocks due to mass-loading were first discussed to describe the solar wind flow around a cometary atmosphere, showing its choking effects on the flow. Recent observations have led to an increased interest in mass-loading occurring in the solar corona due to both sungrazing comets and collisional debris production by sunward migrating interplanetary dust particles. The 1-D simulations with a hydrodynamic model have illustrated the impact on the solar wind from abrupt mass-loading in the coronal region. Full 3-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations using a solar corona model based on the Block-Adaptive-Tree-Solarwind-Roe-Upwind-Scheme code provide a more realistic coronal environment for modeling specific events applicable to modeling the mass-loaded coronal wind. A specific application is introduced modeling the mass-loading effects from a sungrazing comet.Citation: Rasca, A. P., M. Horányi, R. Oran, and B. van der Holst (2014), Modeling solar wind mass-loading in the vicinity of the Sun using 3-D MHD simulations,

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The interaction of the solar wind with a comet

Cited by 333 publications

References 12 publications

The Global Interaction of Comets with the Solar Wind

The Global Interaction of Comets with the Solar Wind

Global plasma-parameter simulation of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko approaching the Sun

Modeling solar wind mass‐loading in the vicinity of the Sun using 3‐D MHD simulations

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