Fig. 2

image

Shape-changing collisions on comet 67P. We use SPH to simulate impacts of a Rp = 100 m projectile on the smaller of the two lobes of comet 67P. The minimal specific energy required to cause a significant change of the comet’s shape by such impacts, Qreshape, is estimated for different impact geometries and rotation axis. The material strength is the same in all cases shown here (YT = 10 Pa). The effect of the material’s sound speed is investigated as well (top row; in this case, a bulk modulus of A = 2.67 × 104 Pa instead of the nominal A = 2.67 × 106 Pa is used). Plotted is a surface of constant density which represents the surface of the comet; shown in red are regions on the surface with materials whose prescribed tensile strength was exceeded. As a rough average, the minimal specific energy required to cause a significant shape change is estimated as Qreshape ~ 0.2 ± 0.1 J/kg, as indicated by the horizontal yellow line.

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