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Detection of CN Gas in Interstellar Object 2I/Borisov

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Detection of CN Gas in Interstellar Object 2I/Borisov Draft version October 4, 2019 Typeset using LATEX twocolumn style in AASTeX63 Detection of CN gas in Interstellar Object 2I/Borisov Alan Fitzsimmons,1 Olivier Hainaut,2 Karen J. Meech,3 Emmanuel Jehin,4 Youssef Moulane,5, 6, 7 Cyrielle Opitom,5 Bin Yang,5 Jacqueline V. Keane,3 Jan T. Kleyna,3 Marco Micheli,8, 9 and Colin Snodgrass10 1Astrophysics Research Centre Queen's University Belfast Belfast BT7 1NN, UK 2European Southern Observatory Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2 D-85748 Garching bei M¨unchen,Germany 3Institute for Astronomy 2680 Woodlawn Drive Honolulu, HI 96822 USA 4STAR Institute Universit´ede Li`ege All´eedu 6 ao^ut,19C 4000 Liege, Belgium 5European Southern Observatory Alonso de Cordova 3107 Vitacura, Santiago, Chile 6STAR Institute Universit´ede Liege All´eedu 6 ao^ut,19C 4000 Liege, Belgium 7Oukaimeden Observatory Cadi Ayyad University, Morocco 8ESA NEO Coordination Centre Largo Galileo Galilei, 1 00044 Frascati (RM), Italy 9INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma Via Frascati, 33 00040 Monte Porzio Catone (RM), Italy 10Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK (Received September 26, 2019; Revised September 30, 2019; Accepted October 1, 2019) Submitted to ApJ Letters arXiv:1909.12144v2 [astro-ph.EP] 2 Oct 2019 ABSTRACT The detection of Interstellar Objects passing through the Solar System offers the promise of constrain- ing the physical and chemical processes involved in planetary formation in other extrasolar systems. While the effect of outgassing by 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua) was dynamically observed, no direct de- tection of the ejected material was made. The discovery of the active interstellar comet 2I/Borisov means spectroscopic investigations of the sublimated ices is possible for this object. We report the first detection of gas emitted by an interstellar comet via the near-UV emission of CN from 2I/Borisov Corresponding author: Alan Fitzsimmons a.fi[email protected] 2 Fitzsimmons et al. at a heliocentric distance of r = 2.7 au on 2019 September 20. The production rate was found to be Q(CN) = (3:7 ± 0:4) × 1024 s−1, using a simple Haser model with an outflow velocity of 0.5 km s−1. 24 −1 No other emission was detected, with an upper limit to the production rate of C2 of 4 × 10 s . The spectral reflectance slope of the dust coma over 3900 A˚ < λ < 6000 A˚ is steeper than at longer wavelengths, as found for other comets. Broad band Rc photometry on 2019 September 19 gave a dust production rate of Afρ = 143 ± 10 cm. Modelling of the observed gas and dust production rates constrains the nuclear radius to 0:7 − 3:3 km assuming reasonable nuclear properties. Overall, we find the gas, dust and nuclear properties for the first active Interstellar Object are similar to normal Solar System comets. Keywords: comets: individual (C/2019 Q4) | comets: general 1. INTRODUCTION red featureless spectrum similar to that expected for an Solar System formation models suggest that a large irradiated cometary surface (Fitzsimmons et al. 2018). number of planetesimals were ejected to space as the Nevertheless, non-gravitational accelerations were de- giant planets formed and migrated. Most of these plan- tected in 1I's motion combining astrometry from the etesimals are expected to be icy (i.e. comet-like) with ground and with the long extension of arc afforded by only a small fraction of them being rocky objects (Meech HST observations (Micheli et al. 2018). The only plau- et al. 2016; Engelhardt et al. 2017). Assuming that simi- sible explanation for this acceleration was comet out- lar processes have taken place elsewhere in the Galaxy, a gassing at a level below our ability to detect it during large number of planetesimals are wandering through in- the ∼2-week period that we had for detailed observa- terstellar space, some eventually crossing the Solar Sys- tions. tem. Many decades of comet and asteroid studies have One of the most important questions left unanswered yielded formation models that explain the mass distribu- from the study of 'Oumuamua was \What is it made tion, chemical abundances, and planetary configuration of?" It had been expected that any ISO would proba- of the Solar System today. However, studies of exoplanet bly be ice-rich, displaying cometary activity if it passed systems have shown that many different planetary sys- within the sublimation distance of the Sun for its con- tem architectures can exist. It is still uncertain whether stituent ices. This in turn would allow spectroscopy of the Solar System is typical of planetary systems in gen- the coma gases. The near-inert nature of 1I was ini- eral. Interstellar Objects (ISOs) provide an opportunity tially puzzling, although subsequent studies have shown to study the planet-building process in extrasolar plan- it is consistent with ejection mechanisms and subse- etary systems. quent evolution in interstellar space (see 'Oumuamua The first known ISO, 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua), was ISSI Team et al.(2019) and references within). discovered on 2017 October 19 and followed by a short On 2019 August 30 Gennady Borisov at the MARGO intense period of observation as it faded quickly as it observatory in Crimea discovered Comet C/2019 Q4 receded from Earth. Assuming it was dark, 1I was very (Borisov) at small solar elongation in the morning twi- red and small with an average diameter of 200m (Meech light. The orbit was very quickly shown to be hyper- et al. 2017). However, it could possibly be as small as bolic, with an eccentricity > 3 (MPEC 2019-R106; 2019 100 m across if it has a higher albedo (Trilling et al. September 11). On September 24 it was officially named 2018). `Oumuamua's rotational light curve was extraor- by the IAU as 2I/Borisov - the second known ISO. Un- dinary, with a brightness range of over 2.5 magnitudes, like 1I, this second ISO was discovered before perihe- implying that it had a very elongated nucleus with an lion (q = 2.0 au; 2019 December 8) and will be well axis ratio >5:1, perhaps as large as 10:1. Further, it was placed for observing before it goes into solar conjunc- found to be in an excited rotation state with a period tion again in 2020 October. Initial photometry showed of 8.67±0.34 h precessing around the angular momen- it to possess broad-band optical colors similar to other tum vector, and a longer period of ∼54 h. Because of active comets with significant dust comae (Guzik et al. the long damping timescale, this excited state was likely 2019). An optical spectrum showed a featureless red re- caused by its ejection from its home star system (Belton flectance spectrum (de Le´onet al. 2019). However, to et al. 2018; Fraser et al. 2018; Drahus et al. 2018). Al- probe the composition of an ISO and compare its na- though there were very sensitive searches for dust and ture to our own Solar System requires identification and gas (Meech et al. 2017; Ye et al. 2017; Trilling et al. measurement of emission or absorption features within 2018), none were detected. Spectroscopy only revealed a AASTEX Detection of CN gas in 2I/Borisov 3 its spectrum. In this paper we report the first detection at Oukaimeden observatory, Morocco (Jehin et al. 2011). of gas in the coma of an interstellar comet. TN is equipped with a 2K×2K CCD camera with a field of view of 220×220, the pixels are binned 2× by 2 to give 00 2. OBSERVATIONS AND DATA REDUCTION a plate scale of 1.2 /pixel. Attempts were made on other dates but were thwarted by moonlight. With TN there 2I/Borisov was observed with the 4.2 m William Her- was only a 30 minute window to observe the comet > 25◦ schel Telescope (hereafter WHT) plus ISIS spectrograph above the horizon. Data calibration followed standard on La Palma on 2019 September 20.2 UT. The obser- procedures using frequently updated master bias, flat vational circumstances are given in Table1. The ISIS and dark frames. The removal of the sky contamina- R300B grating was used with an intrinsic spectral re- tion and the flux calibration were performed using TN solving power of λ/δλ = 976. The detector was a blue- zero points that are regularly updated. Observational sensitive EEV-4280 CCD, giving a pixel scale of 0.86 circumstances of all photmetry are given in Table1. A˚ pixel−1 at 4000 A.˚ Two 900-second and two 1200- 00 second exposures were obtained through a 2 wide slit, 3. ANALYSIS chosen to maximise the cometary flux while minimis- ing the background flux due to airglow, astronomical 3.1. Gas Emission twilight and moonlight. This slit width decreased the To identify any emission bands, we removed the un- effective resolution to 9.5 A˚ at 4000A.˚ Due to the faint- derlying continuum resulting from reflected sunlight by ness of the comet, atmospheric extinction at airmasses dust. We used a scaled and reddened standard refer- ≥ 2:0 and the rapidly brightening sky, only two of the ence solar spectrum. After subtracting this spectrum, four exposures obtained were found to contain cometary the comet spectra should only consist of gas fluores- flux at wavelengths < 4500 A,˚ starting at 05:19 UT (900 cence emission features. The spectrum before and af- second exposure) and 05:38 UT (1200 second exposure). ter removal of the dust continuum is shown in Fig.1 An exposure of the spectrophotometric standard G191- and shows strong CN (0-0) gas emission due to solar B2B (Bohlin et al. 1995) was obtained immediately af- fluorescence at 3880 A.˚ Both the wavelength and the terwards using a 1000 wide slit to enable flux calibration.
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