Prevailing dust-transport directions on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

TL;DR

This paper models dust transport on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by combining surface activity, topography, and physical forces, resulting in a global map consistent with observed dust wind directions.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive mechanism for dust transport on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko that incorporates detailed topography and physical forces, producing a global dust-transport map.

Findings

Transport vectors match observed wind-tail directions.

Homogeneous dust source distribution explains dust pathways.

The model predicts dust fluxes contributing to the coma.

Abstract

Dust transport and deposition behind larger boulders on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) have been observed by the Rosetta mission. We present a mechanism for dust transport vectors based on a homogenous surface activity model incorporating in detail the topography of 67P/C-G. The combination of gravitation, gas drag, and Coriolis force leads to specific dust transfer pathways, which for higher dust velocities fuel the near nucleus coma. By distributing dust sources homogeneously across the whole cometary surface, we derive a global dust-transport map of 67P/C-G. The transport vectors are in agreement with the reported wind-tail directions in the Philae descent area.