https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0603106v2
https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0603106v2
ARXIV.ORG
The Size-Frequency Distribution of Dormant Jupiter Family Comets
We estimate the total number and the slope of the size frequency distribution (SFD) of dormant Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) by fitting a one-parameter model to the known population. We first select 61 Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that are likely to be dormant JFCs because their orbits are dynamically coupled to Jupiter (Bottke et al, 2002). Then, from the numerical simulations of Levison & Duncan (1997), we construct an orbit distribution model for JFCs in the NEO orbital element space. We assume an orbit independent SFD for all JFCs, the slope of which is our unique free parameter. Finally, we compute observational biases for dormant JFCs using a calibrated NEO survey simulator (Jedicke et al. 2003). By fitting the biased model to the data, we estimate that there are ~75 dormant JFCs with H
35 Comments & Tags 0 Shares 1 Views

Password Copied!

Please Wait....