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In various astrophysical systems (Saturn's ring, Kuiper belt, etc.),
the collision of a relatively large particle (impactor) into a layer of
smaller or "dust" particles (regolith) may occur. One possible
outcome is the ejection of regolith. The characteristics of this ejecta,
which may be the only information available from such a collision, is
expected to give insight on the evolution of planetary rings, planetismals,
and asteroid belts.
The pictures shown above demonstrate the impaction of a large body into
a layer of regolith. In the top figure, a red laser is strobed to
illuminate a two-dimensional plane at high frequency. A long-exposure
photograph of the strobed system reveals the trajectories of ejecta once
the impactor (light, semi-circular outline in lower, left quadrant) makes
contact with the regolith. In the bottom figure, a single snapshot in time
of the corresponding molecular-dynamics simulation is shown. A series of
such snapshots is used for direct comparison with the experimental data.
Student: Laura Crawford (REU student, University of Florida)
Faculty: Josh Colwell
and Michael Mellon (experiments, Laboratory
for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado) and
Christine Hrenya (simulations)
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