Imaging polarimetry of Comet C/2012 L2 (LINEAR)

TL;DR

This study presents polarimetric observations of comet C/2012 L2 (LINEAR) before perihelion, revealing dust properties, coma structure, and a jet feature, using imaging polarimetry at a phase angle of 31 degrees.

Contribution

First polarimetric analysis of comet C/2012 L2 (LINEAR) at this phase angle, providing insights into dust composition and coma morphology.

Findings

Coma shows significant intensity and polarization variation.

Elongation of coma along Sun-comet axis observed.

Jet structure detected in intensity and polarization maps.

Abstract

We present the polarimetric results and analysis of comet C/2012 L2 (LINEAR) observed at 31$^\circ$.1 phase angle before perihelion passage. The observations of the comet were carried out using ARIES Imaging Polarimeter (AIMPOL) mounted on the 1.04-m Sampurnanand telescope of ARIES, Nainital, India on 11 and 12 March, 2013 using R photometric band ($\lambda$ = 630 nm, $\Delta$$\lambda$ =120nm). The extended coma of the comet ($\sim65000$ km) shows a significant variation in the intensity as well as polarization profile in all considered directions which suggest that the dust particles originate from the active areas of the nucleus. The elongation of the coma is prominent along the Sun-comet position angle. The polarization of Comet C/2012 L2 (LINEAR) does not show steep radial dependence on the aperture size during both the nights of observation. A jet extended in the antisolar direction is well observed in both intensity and polarization map.