An Argument for a Kilometer-Scale Nucleus of C/2019 Q4

TL;DR

This paper argues that a kilometer-scale nucleus for interstellar comet C/2019 Q4 aligns with observations of other interstellar objects, suggesting a unified size distribution with equal mass per logarithmic bin.

Contribution

It proposes that a kilometer-scale nucleus explains multiple interstellar objects within a consistent power-law distribution, unifying their size and mass characteristics.

Findings

A kilometer-scale nucleus is consistent with observations of `Oumuamua and CNEOS-2014-01-08.

Interstellar objects follow a power-law size distribution with equal mass per logarithmic bin.

The model supports a unified understanding of interstellar object populations.

Abstract

C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), discovered by Gennady Borisov on August 30, 2019, is tentatively an interstellar comet. We show that a kilometer-scale nucleus would provide consistency with both `Oumuamua and CNEOS-2014-01-08, resulting in a single power-law distribution with an equal amount of mass per logarithmic bin of interstellar objects.