Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences
Title : | A comprehensive study of the physical and chemical evolution of volatiles and formation of organics in the comets: From reprocessing of primordial ices in cometary nuclei to the formation of cometary atmosphere during perihelion passage |
Area of research : | Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Kinsuk Acharyya, Physical Research Laboratory, Rajasthan |
Timeline Start Year : | 2023 |
Timeline End Year : | 2026 |
Contact info : | kinsukacharyya@gmail.com |
Equipments : | Desktop
Printer |
Details
Executive Summary : | Comets, made up of leftover materials from the solar system, are crucial for the building blocks of outer planets, transporting water and organics, and possibly playing a role in terrestrial habitability. The study of comets is of paramount importance, especially with the recent observation of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov with a unique CO-rich atmosphere. Currently, 72 cometary species are detected in the cometary atmosphere or coma, with 37 being complex organic molecules. The formation of these organics is an unresolved question, as their formation in the cometary atmosphere is not efficient. To understand this, researchers plan to study the processing of volatiles in the nucleus, a topic that has been underexplored. Using a numerical model, they plan to study the cometary nucleus's ice chemistry and the cometary atmosphere's chemical and dynamical evolution. They will consider thermal hopping and photodissociation processes due to UV radiation fields and Galactic cosmic rays to reprocess the ice in the nucleus. Temperature is a critical parameter in determining reaction rates, and when the comet is near the sun, volatiles in the nucleus start sublimating, forming the cometary atmosphere or coma. The proposed project will provide a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of volatiles, particularly organics in the cometary nucleus and coma, helping to understand the interconnection between the nucleus and coma and creating a repository of volatiles for future in-situ studies of comets. |
Total Budget (INR): | 21,41,360 |
Organizations involved