HR: 11:25h
AN: P42A-04    [Abstracts]
TI: Laboratory Simulation of the X-Ray Emission from Comet C/1999 T1 (McNaught-Hartley)
AU: * Beiersdorfer, P
EM: beiersdorfer@llnl.gov
AF: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave, Livermore, CA 94550 United States
AU: * Beiersdorfer, P
EM: beiersdorfer@llnl.gov
AF: Univerity of California Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 United States
AU: Boyce, K R
EM: Kevin.R.Boyce@nasa.gov
AF: Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Brown, G V
EM: gregbrown@llnl.gov
AF: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave, Livermore, CA 94550 United States
AU: Chen, H
EM: chenhui@llnl.gov
AF: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave, Livermore, CA 94550 United States
AU: Kelley, R L
EM: kelley@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Kilbourne, C A
EM: Kilbourne@lheapop.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Porter, F S
EM: porter@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AB: We have performed a series of laboratory experiments to simulate the X-ray spectrum of comet C/1999 T1 (McNaught-Hartley) observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Our experiments utilize the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory EBIT-I electron beam ion trap, in which the relevant ions are generated and made to collide with the appropriate neutral gases in order to produce X-ray emission by charge exchange. The X-ray emission is recorded with a high-resolution microcalorimeter detector built at the Goddard Space Flight Center. In addition to the K-shell X-ray emission of highly charged ions of C, N, and O, we have also recorded the emission of heliumlike Ne. Unlike in an earlier fit of comet C/1999 S4 (LINEAR), neon emission was found to be necessary to simulate the McNaught-Hartley data. Excellent agreement between the laboratory simulation and the McNaught-Hartley spectrum is obtained. The ion fractions inferred from the simulation agree very well with direct solar wind measurements. This work was performed under the auspices of the Department of Energy by UC-LLNL under contract W-7405-ENG-48 and supported by NASA's Planetary Atmospheres Program under Work Order W-19,938.
DE: 2164 Solar wind plasma
DE: 6060 Radiation and spectra
DE: 6061 Remote sensing
DE: 6210 Comets
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly