{
  "abstract": "Context. The post-release fragmentation behavior of dust from main-belt comets (MBCs) significantly alters the particle size distribution and number density, thereby affecting the accuracy of dust impact risk assessments for spacecraft. Aims. We aim to construct a coupled thermophysical and mechanical model for porous MBCs’ dust to evaluate their structural stability and investigate the physical mechanisms of sublimation-driven disintegration. Methods. We constructed a refined thermophysical model for porous MBCs’ dust by integrating the ballistic particle-cluster aggregation algorithm with a hybrid radiative-transfer strategy and solving the coupled energy–mass balance equations using the finite element method. By comparing the sublimation-induced internal pore pressure with the effective tensile strength of the hierarchical aggregate structure, a critical failure criterion was established to evaluate the mechanism of dust fragmentation. Results. Numerical simulations reveal strict size selectivity for sublimation-driven fragmentation. At a heliocentric distance of 1.69 AU, sublimation-driven fragmentation is confined to a narrow size range approximately bounded by 50 and 70 mm if the secondary aggregate size is 1/5 of the macroscopic aggregate size. Furthermore, increasing heliocentric distance generally suppresses sublimation-induced internal pressure buildup, while both the bulk porosity and secondary aggregate size significantly influence gas transport, tensile-strength thresholds, and the resulting fragmentation outcome. Conclusions. Sublimation-driven fragmentation is identified as the hierarchical disintegration of millimeter- and centimeter-sized aggregates at low stress thresholds. Since the predicted critical sizes significantly exceed sizes of typical tail dust grains, we conclude that this mechanism is a near-surface phenomenon occurring prior to dust entrainment, rather than a process occurring within the comet tail.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University",
    "National Key Laboratory of Space Environment Interaction With Matters, Lanzhou Institute of Physics",
    "State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Extreme Meteorology, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhao Yujie",
      "orcid": "0009-0009-8078-6931"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Guo Wenqi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wang Yusen",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-1223-6705"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Huang Junhai",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-9084-7087"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhu Boyang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Li Cunhui",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2689-9387"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Liu Ranran",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2811-8177"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Liu Xiaodong",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9329-0315"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bn2ywnzknerca.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1051/0004-6361/202659698",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/10/aa59698-26/aa59698-26.html",
  "id": "bn2ywnzknerca",
  "issns": [
    "0004-6361",
    "1432-0746"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202659698",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "QB1-991"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Astro and Planetary Science"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213411527",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-24",
  "publisher": "EDP Sciences",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bn2ywnzknerca.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:44:48Z",
      "native_id": "f68a09fd0a0d4edc8e1b5a28432ad1eb",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202659698"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Astro and Planetary Science",
      "subfield": "planetary"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Sublimation-driven fragmentation of icy dust aggregates in main-belt comets",
  "title_text": "Sublimation-driven fragmentation of icy dust aggregates in main-belt comets",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:44:48Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bn2ywnzknerca",
  "venue": "Astronomy & Astrophysics",
  "versions": []
}