Experimental investigations of crater formation as a result of high-velocity impacts on sand bed

The formation of craters is an important issue in the investigations of the surface of the earth and other planets. The aim of the study was to check whether the different textures of sand beds affect the size and dynamics of the formation of craters and ejection curtain after high-velocity impacts. The experiments were conducted using an aluminium impactor at two impact speeds (~700 and ~1300 m∙s^-1) and a sand bed composed of either a broad range of sizes (<2.0 mm) or any of the three fractions obtained from it (<0.5, 0.5–1, 1–2 mm). The diameters, depths, wall slope, and rim heights of the resulting craters were measured. The ejecta curtain was characterized by the inclination angle of walls, base diameter, and expansion velocity. The mass of the transferred material and the depth of the impactor penetration were also determined. Additionally, the results were used to calculate dimensionless parameters commonly considered in crater studies (π_V, π₂ and α). The texture of the sand most clearly influenced the diameters of the craters, its effect could also be seen in the case of the distance covered by the ejected material. This information appears to be relevant for future research, providing some rationale to help assess in which aspects of the phenomenon the texture may be important.

Ray Systems in Granular Cratering

In classical experiments of granular cratering, a ball dropped on an evened-out bed of grains ends up within a crater surrounded by a uniform blanket of ejecta. In this Letter, we show that the uniform blanket of ejecta changes to a ray system, or set of radial streaks of ejecta, where the surface of the granular bed includes undulations, a factor that has not been addressed to date. By carrying out numerous experiments and computational simulations thereof, we ascertain that the number of rays in a ray system ∝D/λ, where D is the diameter of the ball and λ is the wavelength of the undulations. Further, we show that the ejecta in a ray system originates in a narrow annulus of diameter D with the center at the site of impact. Our findings may help shed light on the enigmatic ray systems that ring many impact craters on the Moon and other planetary bodies.

Granular response to impact: Topology of the force networks

The impact of an intruder on granular matter leads to the formation of mesoscopic force networks, which were seen particularly clearly in the recent experiments carried out with photoelastic particles [Clark et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 144502 (2015)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.114.144502]. These force networks are characterized by complex structure and evolve on fast time scales. While it is known that total photoelastic activity in the granular system is correlated with the acceleration of the intruder, it is not known how the structure of the force network evolves during impact, and if there are dominant features in the networks that can be used to describe the intruder's dynamics. Here, we use topological tools, in particular persistent homology, to describe these features. Persistent homology allows quantification of both structure and time evolution of the resulting force networks. We find that there is a clear correlation of the intruder's dynamics and some of the topological measures implemented. This finding allows us to discuss which properties of the force networks are most important when attempting to describe the intruder's dynamics. In particular, we find that the presence of loops in the force network, quantified by persistent homology, is strongly correlated to the deceleration of the intruder. In some cases, particularly for the impact on soft particles, the measures derived from the persistence analysis describe the deceleration of the intruder even better than the total photoelastic activity. We are also able to define an upper bound on the relevant time scale over which the force networks evolve.

Sesquinary catenae on the Martian satellite Phobos from reaccretion of escaping ejecta

The Martian satellite Phobos is criss-crossed by linear grooves and crater chains whose origin is unexplained. Anomalous grooves are relatively young, and crosscut tidally predicted stress fields as Phobos spirals towards Mars. Here we report strong correspondence between these anomalous features and reaccretion patterns of sesquinary ejecta from impacts on Phobos. Escaping ejecta persistently imprint Phobos with linear, low-velocity crater chains (catenae) that match the geometry and morphology of prominent features that do not fit the tidal model. We prove that these cannot be older than Phobos' current orbit inside Mars' Roche limit. Distinctive reimpact patterns allow sesquinary craters to be traced back to their source, for the first time across any planetary body, creating a novel way to probe planetary surface characteristics. For example, we show that catena-producing craters likely formed in the gravity regime, providing constraints on the ejecta velocity field and knowledge of source crater material properties.

Penetration of spherical projectiles into wet granular media

We measure experimentally the penetration depth d of spherical particles into a water-saturated granular medium made of much smaller sand-sized grains. We vary the density, size R, and velocity U of the impacting spheres, and the size δ of the grains in the granular medium. We consider velocities between 7 and 107 m/s, a range not previously addressed, but relevant for impacts produced by volcanic eruptions. We find that d∝R(1/3)δ(1/3)U(2/3). The scaling with velocity is similar to that identified in previous, low-velocity collisions, but it also depends on the size of the grains in the granular medium. We develop a model, consistent with the observed scaling, in which the energy dissipation is dominated by the work required to rearrange grains along a network of force chains in the granular medium.

Spitzer Spectral Observations of the Deep Impact Ejecta

Spitzer Space Telescope imaging spectrometer observations of comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact encounter returned detailed, highly structured, 5- to 35-micrometer spectra of the ejecta. Emission signatures due to amorphous and crystalline silicates, amorphous carbon, carbonates, phyllosilicates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, water gas and ice, and sulfides were found. Good agreement is seen between the ejecta spectra and the material emitted from comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and the circumstellar material around the young stellar object HD100546. The atomic abundance of the observed material is consistent with solar and C1 chondritic abundances, and the dust-to-gas ratio was determined to be greater than or equal to 1.3. The presence of the observed mix of materials requires efficient methods of annealing amorphous silicates and mixing of high- and low-temperature phases over large distances in the early protosolar nebula.

Understanding oblique impacts from experiments, observations, and modeling

Natural impacts in which the projectile strikes the target vertically are virtually nonexistent. Nevertheless, our inherent drive to simplify nature often causes us to suppose most impacts are nearly vertical. Recent theoretical, observational, and experimental work is improving this situation, but even with the current wealth of studies on impact cratering, the effect of impact angle on the final crater is not well understood. Although craters' rims may appear circular down to low impact angles, the distribution of ejecta around the crater is more sensitive to the angle of impact and currently serves as the best guide to obliquity of impacts. Experimental studies established that crater dimensions depend only on the vertical component of the impact velocity. The shock wave generated by the impact weakens with decreasing impact angle. As a result, melting and vaporization depend on impact angle; however, these processes do not seem to depend on the vertical component of the velocity alone. Finally, obliquity influences the fate of the projectile: in particular, the amount and velocity of ricochet are a strong function of impact angle.

Capture of interplanetary and interstellar dust by the jovian magnetosphere

Interplanetary and interstellar dust grains entering Jupiter's magnetosphere form a detectable diffuse faint ring of exogenic material. This ring is composed of particles in the size range of 0. 5 to 1.5 micrometers on retrograde and prograde orbits in a 4:1 ratio, with semimajor axes 3 < a < 20 jovian radii, eccentricities 0. 1 < e < 0.3, and inclinations i less, similar 20 degrees or i greater, similar 160 degrees. The size range and the orbital characteristics are consistent with in situ detections of micrometer-sized grains by the Galileo dust detector, and the measured rates match the number densities predicted from numerical trajectory integrations.