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We describe the physical and orbital properties of C/2011 W3. After survivingperihelion, the comet underwent major changes (permanent loss of nuclearcondensation, formation of spine tail). The process of disintegrationculminated with an outburst on December 17.6 (T+1.6 d) and this delayedresponse is inconsistent with the rubble pile model. Probable cause was thermalstress from the heat pulse into the nucleus after perihelion, which could alsoproduce fragmentation of sungrazers far from the Sun. The spine tail was asynchronic feature, made up of dust released at <30 m/s. Since the nucleuswould have been located on the synchrone, we computed the astrometric positionsof the missing nucleus as the coordinates of the points of intersection of thespine tail's axis with lines of forced orbital-period variation, derived fromorbital solutions based on preperihelion astrometry from the ground. Theresulting osculating orbital period was 698+/-2 years, which proves that C/2011W3 is the first major member of the predicted new, 21st-century cluster ofbright Kreutz-system sungrazers. The spine tail's tip contained dust 1-2 mm indiameter. The bizarre appearance of the dust tail in images taken hours afterperihelion with coronagraphs on SOHO and STEREO is readily understood. Thedisconnection of the comet's head from the preperihelion tail and the apparentactivity attenuation near perihelion are both caused by sublimation of all dustat heliocentric distances smaller than ~1.8 solar radii. The tail's brightnessis strongly affected by forward scattering of sunlight by dust. Thelongest-imaged grains had a radiation-pressure parameter beta ~ 0.6, probablysubmicron-sized silicate grains. The place of C/2011 W3 within the hierarchy ofthe Kreutz system and its genealogy via a 14th century parent suggest that itis indirectly related to the celebrated sungrazer X/1106 C1.

astrophysical journal/the astrophysical journal

Comet C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy): Orbit Determination, Outbursts,  Disintegration of Nucleus, Dust-Tail Morphology, and Relationship to New  Cluster of Bright Sungrazers