Catalyzing New International Collaboration: Astronomical Observations and Laboratory Studies Relevant to Comets

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The primary objective of this award is to provide the catalyst for a new international collaboration between the U.S. and Japan in the field of planetary science. Dr. Konstantinos Kalogerakis of SRI International will visit the group of Professor Hideyo Kawakita at Kyoto Sangyo University. This collaboration will bring together their respective backgrounds in laboratory experiments relevant to planetary science (Kalogerakis) and astronomical observations of comets (Kawakita). The goal of the collaboration is to plan research efforts to address significant gaps in the understanding of comets. The synergistic aspect of this collaboration arises from the interaction of an astronomer extensively involved in ground- and space-based observations of comets, with an experimentalist immersed in relevant laboratory studies and well versed in spectroscopy and gas-phase reaction dynamics. The planned interactions will primarily focus on two topics relevant to comets: 1) The interpretation of the varying Doppler widths of the cometary red and green atomic oxygen line emissions, and 2) The hypothesis that prompt emission by excited triplet CO states following photodissociation of CO2 in the extreme ultraviolet could serve as a marker of CO2 presence in comets. An important aspect of the proposed planning visit is to define one or more new proposals addressing the aforementioned topics to be submitted to the U.S. National Science Foundation?s Planetary Astronomy Program and possibly to NASA as well. The results of the proposed collaboration as well as its future research outcomes will benefit modelers of planetary atmospheres, theoreticians, and optical aeronomers, and will enhance the scientific returns of past and future space missions, as well as ground- or space-based observations of comets. The study of photochemical processes is also important on a fundamental level because it allows testing of relevant models and theoretical calculations and will ultimately refine understanding of the forces responsible for chemical transformations at the level of atoms and molecules. Just as importantly, the proposed new collaboration will lead to research that lends itself favorably to educational purposes. Finally, because of its very nature, the proposed planning visit and ensuing interactions will foster international cooperation and cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Japan and increase the international visibility of the U.S. research enterprise.