Search Publications
Cometary Dust
Langevin, Yves; Thomas, Nicolas; Agarwal, Jessica +11 more
This review presents our understanding of cometary dust at the end of 2017. For decades, insight about the dust ejected by nuclei of comets had stemmed from remote observations from Earth or Earth's orbit, and from flybys, including the samples of dust returned to Earth for laboratory studies by the Stardust return capsule. The long-duration Roset…
Partial Variance of Increments Method in Solar Wind Observations and Plasma Simulations
Perri, S.; Matthaeus, W. H.; Wan, M. +4 more
The method called "PVI" (Partial Variance of Increments) has been increasingly used in analysis of spacecraft and numerical simulation data since its inception in 2008. The purpose of the method is to study the kinematics and formation of coherent structures in space plasmas, a topic that has gained considerable attention, leading the development …
Composition and Chemistry of the Neutral Atmosphere of Venus
Marcq, Emmanuel; Vandaele, Ann Carine; Parkinson, Christopher D. +1 more
This paper deals with the composition and chemical processes occurring in the neutral atmosphere of Venus. Since the last synthesis, observers as well as modellers have emphasised the spatial and temporal variability of minor species, going beyond a static and uniform picture that may have prevailed in the past. The outline of this paper acknowled…
Water Reservoirs in Small Planetary Bodies: Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets
Altwegg, Kathrin; Alexander, Conel M. O'D.; McKeegan, Kevin D.
Asteroids and comets are the remnants of the swarm of planetesimals from which the planets ultimately formed, and they retain records of processes that operated prior to and during planet formation. They are also likely the sources of most of the water and other volatiles accreted by Earth. In this review, we discuss the nature and probable origin…
Enrichment of the Hot Intracluster Medium: Observations
Yamaguchi, H.; Simionescu, A.; Kaastra, J. S. +7 more
Four decades ago, the firm detection of an Fe-K emission feature in the X-ray spectrum of the Perseus cluster revealed the presence of iron in its hot intracluster medium (ICM). With more advanced missions successfully launched over the last 20 years, this discovery has been extended to many other metals and to the hot atmospheres of many other ga…
Old-Aged Primary Distance Indicators
Salaris, Maurizio; Matsunaga, Noriyuki; Beaton, Rachael L. +8 more
Old-aged stellar distance indicators are present in all Galactic structures (halo, bulge, disk) and in galaxies of all Hubble types and, thus, are immensely powerful tools for understanding our Universe. Here we present a comprehensive review for three primary standard candles from Population II: (i) RR Lyrae type variables (RRL), (ii) type II Cep…
The Science of Sungrazers, Sunskirters, and Other Near-Sun Comets
Giordano, Silvio; Raymond, John; Mann, Ingrid +16 more
This review addresses our current understanding of comets that venture close to the Sun, and are hence exposed to much more extreme conditions than comets that are typically studied from Earth. The extreme solar heating and plasma environments that these objects encounter change many aspects of their behaviour, thus yielding valuable information o…
Accretion Disks and Coronae in the X-Ray Flashlight
Maccarone, Thomas J.; Li, Jian; Kretschmar, Peter +10 more
Plasma accreted onto the surface of a neutron star can ignite due to unstable thermonuclear burning and produce a bright flash of X-ray emission called a Type-I X-ray burst. Such events are very common; thousands have been observed to date from over a hundred accreting neutron stars. The intense, often Eddington-limited, radiation generated in the…
Electron Power-Law Spectra in Solar and Space Plasmas
Retinò, A.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V.; Eriksson, E. +10 more
Particles are accelerated to very high, non-thermal energies in solar and space plasma environments. While energy spectra of accelerated electrons often exhibit a power law, it remains unclear how electrons are accelerated to high energies and what processes determine the power-law index δ . Here, we review previous observations of the power-law i…
Venus: The Atmosphere, Climate, Surface, Interior and Near-Space Environment of an Earth-Like Planet
Head, James W.; Taylor, Fredric W.; Svedhem, Håkan
This is a review of current knowledge about Earth's nearest planetary neighbour and near twin, Venus. Such knowledge has recently been extended by the European Venus Express and the Japanese Akatsuki spacecraft in orbit around the planet; these missions and their achievements are concisely described in the first part of the review, along with a su…