Origin of Radicals in the Comae of Comets

彗星是原行星盘的原始遗迹，行星在原行星盘中形成和演化。当彗星接近太阳时，核冰升华形成一个巨大的气体和尘埃大气层，围绕在彗星核周围，称为彗发。通过观察彗星的彗发，我们可以探测到彗星核中冰的含量。然而，将彗发中光学波长处观察到的分子与核中的冰丰度联系起来一直是一个长期存在的问题。使用安装在智利甚大望远镜上的MUSE积分场摄谱仪可以实现解决这一问题的关键一步。MUSE能够同时提供几种气体种类和彗星彗发中尘埃的地图。然后，这些地图的比较提供了有关所观察到的气体种类的释放机制的线索。该项目的目标是分析用MUSE仪器观测到的彗星样本，以破译在彗星彗发中观测到的自由基的来源。

Comets are pristine relics of the protoplanetary disk, where the planets formed and evolved. When a comet approaches the Sun, the nuclear ices sublimate to form a huge atmosphere of gas and dust around the nucleus called the coma. By observing the coma of comets, we can probe the content of the nucleus ices. However, it has been a long-standing problem to link the molecules observed at optical wavelengths in the coma back to the ice abundances in the nucleus. A key step towards solving this problem can be achieved using the MUSE integral field spectrograph, mounted on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. MUSE is capable of providing simultaneous maps of several gas species and the dust in the coma of comets. The comparison of those maps then provides clues about the release mechanisms of the gas species observed. The goal of this project is to analyse a sample of comets observed with the MUSE instrument to decipher the origin of the radicals observed in the coma of comets.