Occultation observation to probe the turbulence scale size in the plasma tail of comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3-B

TL;DR

This study uses radio wave scintillation observations to analyze turbulence in the plasma tail of comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3-B, revealing a two-regime turbulence structure through spectral analysis.

Contribution

First observation of plasma tail turbulence in a comet using radio scintillation, demonstrating a two-regime turbulence model based on spectral analysis.

Findings

Increased scintillation during occultation indicates plasma turbulence.

Spectral steepening at high scales and excess power at low scales observed.

Turbulence evolution explained by a two-regime plasma turbulence model.

Abstract

We present the occultation observation of compact radio source B0019-000 through the plasma tail of comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3-B. The observation was made with the Ooty Radio Telescope at 326.5 MHz on 2006 May 26, when the plasma tail of the comet was in front of this source. The scintillation was found to be increased significantly for the target source compared to that of a control source. The intensity fluctuation power spectra show both steepening at high spatial scales and excess power at low spatial scales. This observation can be attributed to the turbulence in the comet plasma tail. A two-regime plasma turbulence can explain the time-evolution of the power spectrum during the occultation observation.