Comet 1P/Halley Multifluid MHD model for the Giotto Fly-By M. Rubin, M. R. Combi, L. K. S. Daldorff, T. I. Gombosi, K. C. Hansen, Y. Shou, V. M. Tenishev, G. Tóth, B. van der Holst, and K. Altwegg Rubin et al. 2014, ApJ, 781, 86
Model description Individual ion fluids with their own continuity (m i ), momentum (m i u xi, m i u yi, m i u zi ), and pressure equations (p i ) -SWp + (Origin: SW, only sinks inside the model) -H 2 O + (Origin: Photoionization of cometary neutrals) -H + (Origin: Photoionization of cometary neutrals) -separate electron pressure equation (p e →T e ) Neutral gas (analytic description) H 2 O is described by a Haser model H, H 2 is fitted to Combi (1996) Included physics : -Photoionization & dissociation, electron-impact ionization -Ion-electron recombination -Ion-neutral charge exchange (through friction term) -Lorentz-force interaction between the fluids -Elastic collision (ion-ion, ion-electron, ion-neutral, electron-neutral) -Electron heating by photoelectrons -H 2 O cooling of electrons (inelastic electron-H 2 O collisions) -UV absorption by photoionization
Modeled species
Model input
Results Comparison with Giotto observations Overview of the different plasma species
Density
Electron temperature
Magnetic field
Plasma velocities
Plasma temperatures
Density
Lorentz-force
Magnetic field
Temperatures
Conclusions Multifluid MHD seems to be doing a reasonable job in fitting Giotto plasma observations Co-located inner shock for cometary species Ion pile-up does not necessarily peak at the same location for the different species Solar wind absent from the innermost region Lorentz-force interaction between the fluids can be observed (non-vanishing B x component)