17779184
Comet 17P/Holmes in Outburst: The Near Infrared Spectrum
Jupiter family comet 17P/Holmes underwent a remarkable outburst on UT 2007 October 24, in which the integrated brightness abruptly increased by about a factor of a million. We obtained near infrared (0.8-4.2 μm) spectra of 17P/Holmes on UT 2007 October 27, 28, and 31, using the 3.0 m NASA Infrared Telescope Facility atop Mauna Kea. Two broad absorption bands were found in the reflectance spectra with centers (at 2 μm and 3 μm, respectively) and overall shapes consistent with the presence of water ice grains in the coma. Synthetic mixing models of these bands suggest an origin in cold ice grains of micron size. Curiously, though, the expected 1.5 μm band of water ice was not detected in our data, an observation for which we have no explanation. Simultaneously, excess thermal emission in the spectra at wavelengths beyond 3.2 μm has a color temperature of 360 ± 40 K (corresponding to a superheat factor of ~2.0 ± 0.2 at 2.45 AU). This is too hot for these grains to be icy. The detection of both water ice spectral features and short-wavelength thermal emission suggests that the coma of 17P/Holmes has two components (hot, refractory dust and cold ice grains) which are not in thermal contact. A similarity to grains ejected into the coma of 9P/Tempel 1 by the Deep Impact spacecraft is noted.
14299167
MAIN-BELT COMET P/2008 R1 (GARRADD)*
We present a study of the newly discovered main-belt comet P/2008 R1 (Garradd), an object with the dynamical characteristics of an asteroid and the physical characteristics of a comet. Photometry sets a limit to the effective radius of the nucleus at re < 0.7 km (red geometric albedo 0.05 assumed). The coma shows a secular fading in our data caused by the escape of dust particles from the near-nucleus environment. The optical reflection spectrum is a nearly neutral continuum devoid of gaseous emission lines, from which we derive a limit to the cyanide (CN) radical production rate of Q CN< 1.4  ×  1023 s–1 and infer a mass-loss rate <1.5 kg s–1 at the time of our observations. Unlike the first-reported main-belt comets, P/2008 R1 is not dynamically stable. The nearby 8:3 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter induces dynamical instability on timescales 20-30 Myr. Hence, we conclude that P/2008 R1 has recently arrived from a more stable source elsewhere. The high Tisserand parameter of the orbit (in fact, with TJ = 3.216 it is the highest of any comet) points to a source in the asteroid belt itself, instead of in the Kuiper belt (putative source of the Jupiter family comets). We infer that P/2008 R1 is an icy body from the outer asteroid belt in which sublimation has been triggered by rising temperatures resulting from a decreasing perihelion distance.
118435552
Near-infrared Observations of Comet-like Asteroid (596) Scheila
Asteroid (596) Scheila was reported to exhibit a cometary appearance and an increase in brightness on UT 2010 December 10.4. We used the IRCS spectrograph on the 8 m Subaru telescope to obtain medium-resolution spectra of Scheila in the HK band (1.4-2.5 μm) and low-resolution spectra in the KL band (2.0-4.0 μm) on UT 2010 December 13 and 14. In addition, we obtained low-resolution spectroscopy using the SpeX spectrograph on the 3 m NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on UT 2011 January 4 and 5. The spectrum of Scheila shows a consistent red slope from 0.8 to 4.0 μm with no apparent absorption features, resembling spectra of D-type asteroids. An intimate mixing model suggests that the amount of water ice that might be present on the surface of Scheila is no more than a few percent. The spectrum of the Tagish Lake chondrite matches the asteroid's spectrum at shorter wavelengths (λ < 2.5 μm), but no hydration features are observed at longer wavelengths on Scheila. Our analysis corroborates other studies suggesting that the comet-like activity of Scheila is likely not caused by the sublimation of water ice. The dust coma and tail may be results of a recent impact event.
15039916
OPTICAL AND DYNAMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF COMET-LIKE MAIN-BELT ASTEROID (596) SCHEILA ∗
We present observations and a dynamical analysis of the comet-like main-belt object, (596) Scheila. V-band photometry obtained on UT 2010 December 12 indicates that Scheila's dust cloud has a scattering cross-section ~1.4 times larger than that of the nucleus, corresponding to a dust mass of Md ~ 3 × 107 kg. V–R color measurements indicate that both the nucleus and dust are redder than the Sun, with no significant color differences between the dust cloud's northern and southern plumes. We also undertake an ultimately unsuccessful search for CN emission, where we find CN and H2O production rates of Q CN 100 Myr, suggesting that it is likely native to its current location. We also find that it does not belong to a dynamical asteroid family of any significance. We consider sublimation-driven scenarios that could produce the appearance of multiple plumes of dust emission, but reject them as being physically implausible. Instead, we concur with previous studies that the unusual morphology of Scheila's dust cloud is most simply explained by a single oblique impact, meaning that this object is likely not a main-belt comet but is instead the second disrupted asteroid after P/2010 A2 (LINEAR) to be discovered.
118745903
Methane, ammonia, and their irradiation products at the surface of an intermediate-size KBO? - A portrait of Plutino (90482) Orcus
Orcus is an intermediate-size 1000 km-scale Kuiper belt object (KBO) in 3:2 mean-motion resonance with Neptune, in an orbit very similar to that of Pluto. It has a water-ice dominated surface with solar-like visible colors. We present visible and near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy obtained with the Keck 10 m-telescope (optical) and the Gemini 8 m-telescope (near-infrared). We confirm the unambiguous detection of crystalline water ice as well as absorption in the 2.2 μm region. These spectral properties are close to those observed for Pluto’s larger satellite Charon, and for Plutino (208996) 2003 AZ84. Both in the visible and near-infrared Orcus’ spectral properties appear to be homogeneous over time (and probably rotation) at the resolution available. From Hapke radiative transfer models involving intimate mixtures of various ices we find for the first time that ammonium (NH + ) and traces of ethane (C2H6), which are most probably solar irradiation products of ammonia and methane, and a mixture of methane and ammonia (diluted or not) are the best candidates to improve the description of the data with respect to a simple water ice mixture (Haumea type surface). The possible more subtle structure of the 2.2 μm band(s) should be investigated thoroughly in the future for Orcus and other intermediate size Plutinos to better understand the methane and ammonia chemistry at work, if any. We investigated the thermal history of Orcus with a new 3D thermal evolution model. Simulations over 4.5×10 9 yr with an input 10% porosity, bulk composition of 23% amorphous water ice and 77% dust (mass fraction), and cold accretion show that even with the action of long-lived radiogenic elements only, Orcus should have a melted core and most probably suffered a cryovolcanic event in its history which brought large amounts of crystalline ice to the surface. The presence of ammonia in the interior would strengthen the melting process. A surface layer of a few hundred meters to a few tens of kilometers of amorphous water ice survives, while most of the remaining volume underneath contains crystalline ice. The crystalline water ice possibly brought to the surface by a past cryovolcanic event should still be detectable after several billion years despite the irradiation effects, as demonstrated by recent laboratory experiments.
9863216
OBSERVATIONAL AND DYNAMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MAIN-BELT COMET P/2010 R2 (La Sagra)
We present observations of the recently discovered comet-like main-belt object P/2010 R2 (La Sagra) obtained by Pan-STARRS1 and the Faulkes Telescope-North on Haleakala in Hawaii, the University of Hawaii 2.2 m, Gemini-North, and Keck I telescopes on Mauna Kea, the Danish 1.54 m telescope (operated by the MiNDSTEp consortium) at La Silla, and the Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma. An antisolar dust tail is observed to be present from 2010 August through 2011 February, while a dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane is also observed from 2010 December through 2011 August. Assuming typical phase darkening behavior, P/La Sagra is seen to increase in brightness by >1 mag between 2010 August and December, suggesting that dust production is ongoing over this period. These results strongly suggest that the observed activity is cometary in nature (i.e., driven by the sublimation of volatile material), and that P/La Sagra is therefore the most recent main-belt comet to be discovered. We find an approximate absolute magnitude for the nucleus of HR = 17.9 ± 0.2 mag, corresponding to a nucleus radius of ~0.7 km, assuming an albedo of p = 0.05. Comparing the observed scattering surface areas of the dust coma to that of the nucleus when P/La Sagra was active, we find dust-to-nucleus area ratios of Ad /AN = 30-60, comparable to those computed for fellow main-belt comets 238P/Read and P/2008 R1 (Garradd), and one to two orders of magnitude larger than for two other main-belt comets (133P/Elst-Pizarro and 176P/LINEAR). Using optical spectroscopy to search for CN emission, we do not detect any conclusive evidence of sublimation products (i.e., gas emission), finding an upper limit CN production rate of Q CN 100 Myr, suggesting that it is likely native to its current location and that its composition is likely representative of other objects in the same region of the main belt, though the relatively close proximity of the 13:6 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter and the (3,–2,–1) three-body mean-motion resonance with Jupiter and Saturn mean that dynamical instability on larger timescales cannot be ruled out.
64266626
Top quark pair production via $e^{+}e^{-}$ collision in the littlest Higgs model with T-parity at the ILC
In the framework of the littlest Higgs model with T parity, we studied the contributions of the new particles to the top-quark pair production via e{sup +}e{sup -} collision at the International Linear Collider. We calculated the top-quark pair production cross section and found this process can generate significantly relative correction. The result may be a sensitive probe of the littlest Higgs model with T parity.
55709355
Top quark pair production via (un)polarized photon collisions in the littlest Higgs model with T-parity at the ILC
We study the top-quark pair production via polarized and unpolarized photon collisions at the International Linear Collider in the context of the littlest Higgs model with T-parity. We calculate the production cross section of the process γγ → t and find the effects can be more significant in the (−−) polarized photon collision mode than in other collision modes, and the relative correction can be expected to reach about −1% in the favorable parameter space.