Monte Carlo Simulations of Oort Cloud Comets: the Influence of Mantle Blow-off on the Inclination Distribution of Jupiter Family
Authors: Nurmi P.1; Valtonen M.J.1; Zheng J.Q.1; Mikkola S.1; Rickman H.2
Source: Earth, Moon, and Planets, Volume 77, Number 3, 1997 , pp. 239-244(6)
Publisher: Springer
- Free Content
- New Content
- Subscribed Content
- Free Trial Content
Abstract:
We have developed an efficient Monte Carlo method by which we can evaluate the evolution of comets. There are many poorly known evolutional parameters, and we have investigated the influence of these parameters on the final populations and the inclination distributions of short-period comets. We compare the observed and calculated inclination distributions of different comet populations and obtain a good fit for the inclinations of the Jupiter family comets by assuming a mantle blow-off and a sudden brightening of the comet when its perihelion distance is lowered in a major jump.
Keywords: Comets; Jupiter family; simulations
Language: English
Document Type: Regular paper
Affiliations: 1: Tuorla Observatory, University of Turku, 21500 Piikkiö, Finland 2: Astronomical Observatory, University of Uppsala, Box 515, S-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
- Free Content
- New Content
- Subscribed Content
- Free Trial Content
Click here for Page Help