Abstract
dc:description.abstractSublimation of volatiles is a defining process of comet nuclei, and profoundly affects their dynamics, structure, and appearance. Central to understanding the processes by which comets formed and subsequently evolved is a careful computation of this sublimation pressure as a function of heliocentric distance. Unlike previous efforts, I develop a thermodynamic method to numerically compute the sublimation pressure of any species from limited knowledge of its physical properties. I then describe a novel cometary disruption mechanism in which this sublimation pressure induces differential stresses within the body of the nucleus that exceed its material strength, resulting in structural failure and breakup of the nucleus. I show that this mechanism is consistent with the behavior of Comet ISON (C/2012 S1), and use it to estimate the cohesive strength of ISON’s nucleus, a first for a Long-Period Comet.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Dissertation
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Physics & Astronomy
- Year
- 2015
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Steckloff, Jordan Kenneth
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Henry J Melosh
- David Minton
- Marc Caffee
- Rafael Lang
Subjects
dc:subject × 6Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Repository record dc:identifier
- https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/1489
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:docs.lib.purdue.edu:open_access_dissertations-2705