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Dust and Volatiles in the Disintegrating Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS)

The Astrophysical Journal(2024)

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Abstract
C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is an Oort cloud comet with an orbital period of similar to 5895 yr. Starting in 2020 March, its nucleus underwent disintegration. In order to investigate the gas and dust properties of C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) during its disintegration, we obtained long-slit spectra at 3600-8700 angstrom and BVRI multiband images with the Xinglong 2.16 m Telescope in 2020 April. Our observations revealed that C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) exhibited strong emission bands of CN, C2, C3, and NH2, which are superimposed on a dust-scattering continuum, typical of cometary spectra in the optical. The production rates of CN, C2, and C3 derived using the Haser model and the corresponding C2/CN and C3/CN ratios suggest that C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is a "typical" Oort cloud comet under the A'Hearn classification, although it appears less dusty, as revealed by the Af rho quantities. Its dust-scattering reflectivity is slightly red, with a gradient of similar to 5% per 103 angstrom. We model the reflectivity gradient in terms of porous dust and find that the red color is accounted for by porous dust.
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Key words
Small Solar System bodies,Comets,Long period comets
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