A COUPLED CHEMISTRY-EMISSION MODEL FOR ATOMIC OXYGEN GREEN AND RED-DOUBLET EMISSIONS IN THE COMET C/1996 B2 HYAKUTAKE
- Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum 695022 (India)
The green (5577 Angstrom-Sign ) and red-doublet (6300, 6364 Angstrom-Sign ) lines are prompt emissions of metastable oxygen atoms in the {sup 1}S and {sup 1}D states, respectively, that have been observed in several comets. The value of the intensity ratio of green to red-doublet (G/R ratio) of 0.1 has been used as a benchmark to identify the parent molecule of oxygen lines as H{sub 2}O. A coupled chemistry-emission model is developed to study the production and loss mechanisms of the O({sup 1}S) and O({sup 1}D) atoms and the generation of red and green lines in the coma of C/1996 B2 Hyakutake. The G/R ratio depends not only on photochemistry, but also on the projected area observed for cometary coma, which is a function of the dimension of the slit used and the geocentric distance of the comet. Calculations show that the contribution of photodissociation of H{sub 2}O to the green (red) line emission is 30%-70% (60%-90%), while CO{sub 2} and CO are the next potential sources contributing 25%-50% (<5%). The ratio of the photoproduction rate of O({sup 1} S) to O({sup 1} D) would be around 0.03 ({+-}0.01) if H{sub 2}O is the main source of oxygen lines, whereas it is {approx}0.6 if the parent is CO{sub 2}. Our calculations suggest that the yield of O({sup 1} S) production in the photodissociation of H{sub 2}O cannot be larger than 1%. The model-calculated radial brightness profiles of the red and green lines and G/R ratios are in good agreement with the observations made on the comet Hyakutake in 1996 March.
- OSTI ID:
- 22016189
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 748, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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