Journal
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Volume 578, Issue 2, Pages 1009-1014Publisher
UNIV CHICAGO PRESS
DOI: 10.1086/342658
Keywords
infrared : solar system; interplanetary medium
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We combine observations from the DIRBE and FIRAS instruments on the COBE satellite to derive an annually averaged spectrum of the zodiacal cloud in the 10 1000 l m wavelength region. The spectrum exhibits a break at similar to150 mum that indicates a sharp break in the dust size distribution at a radius of about 30 mum. The spectrum can be fitted with a single blackbody with a lambda(-2) emissivity law beyond 150 mum and a temperature of 240 K. We also used a more realistic characterization of the cloud to fit the spectrum, including a distribution of dust temperatures representing different dust compositions and distances from the Sun, as well as a realistic representation of the spatial distribution of the dust. We show that amorphous carbon and silicate dust with respective temperatures of 280 and 274 K at 1 AU, and size distributions with a break at grain radii of 14 and 32 mum, can provide a good fit to the average zodiacal dust spectrum. The total mass of the zodiacal cloud is 2-11 Eg (Eg = 10(18) g), depending on the grain composition. The lifetime of the cloud, against particle loss by Poynting-Robertson drag and the effects of solar wind, is about 10(5) yr. The required replenishment rate is similar to10(14) g yr(-1). If this is provided by the asteroid belt alone, the asteroids lifetime would be similar to3 x 10(10) yr. But comets and Kuiper belt objects may also contribute to the zodiacal cloud.
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