A two dimensional simulation of the CONSERT experiment (radio tomography of comet Wirtanen)

We simulate two-dimensional (2-D) maps of the internal permittivity of comet Wirtanen from CONSERT (Comet Nucleus Sounding Experiment by Radiowave Transmission) phase measurements. We study the influence of a priori covariance matrices on the mapping process through Tikhonov or linear regression inverse formulas. We show that this a priori information permits a smooth imaging of the internal permittivity, sometimes affected by ghosts (false anomalies). Accounting for indirect propagation paths through the comet material (rays totally reflected by the comet surface) can alleviate this problem.