SMuK 2021 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 6: Planets and small Objects

EP 6.1: Invited Talk

Thursday, September 2, 2021, 11:00–11:30, H8

The CoPhyLab: How to Study Comets in the Laboratory — •Bastian Gundlach — Institut für Geophysik und extraterrestrische Physik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Deutschland

Comets are kilometer-sized objects, composed of different volatile and refractory species, i.e., ice and dust. They formed in the protoplanetary disc by the gravitational collapse of pebble clouds, typically consisting of mm- to cm-sized aggregates of dust and ice. After their formation, comets were scattered into the outer regions of our solar system and the bulk cometary material remained almost unaltered. Thus, comets are among the most primitive objects of our solar system. When a cometary nucleus enters the inner solar system, the cometary surface warms up and the volatile components start to sublimate. Particles, aggregates and chunks are then ejected off the cometary surface into space. This process leads to the formation of the cometary coma, the dust tail and the dust trail. However, the physical processes related to the ejection of material are still not understood. Laboratory experiments are one possible tool to investigate the activity of comets. This task is currently addressed by the CoPhyLab (Comet Physics Laboratory), an international collaboration among six Partner Institutes, with the aim to study the physical processes connected to cometary activity by various experiments and thermophysical modeling.