Solar Wind Interaction with Dusty Cometary Coma
Abstract
Interaction of Solar wind with dusty cometary coma is considered. In contrast to previous descriptions of this interaction we take into account the influence of charged dust of cometary coma on bow shock formation. Our description is performed on the basis of a self-consistent model which takes into account solar radiation; dust particle charging; evaporation and formation of neutral particles; photoionization; electric fields; the evolution of solar wind ions, cometary ions and dust particles; as well as the dust charge variation. It is shown that the presence of dust in cometary coma can modify shock wave formed as a result of Solar wind interaction with a comet. The outer shock wave (bow shock) can be considered as an ion acoustic shock wave modified by dust particle charging process. Possible formation of dust structures in the region of the interaction of Solar wind with cometary coma is discussed. The developed model allows us to determine the shock front structure. The calculations are performed for a comet situated at the distance of 1 AU from the Sun. For typical cometary nucleus size of about 1 km and rather dense dusty coma (exceeding million of cubic centimeters near the comet nucleus) the bow shock formed as a result of the interaction of Solar wind with the coma is expected to be related to the anomalous dissipation due to the dust particle charging. The bow shock is similar, by its origin, to the shocks observed by Nakamura et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 1602 (1999)) and Luo et al. (Phys. Plasmas 6, 3455 (1999)) and those predicted theoretically (Popel et al., Phys. Plasmas 3, 4313 (1996); Popel et al., Phys. Plasmas 7, 2410 (2000)).
- Publication:
-
35th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2004
- Bibcode:
- 2004cosp...35.2216P