Early-stage ejecta velocity distribution for vertical hypervelocity impacts into sand

The ejecta dynamics during main-stage excavation flow in a cratering event have previously been well characterized, particularly for vertical impacts. In this experimental study, we present new results addressing the early-time, low-angle, high-speed component of the ejecta velocity distribution as a function of time for hypervelocity vertical impacts into sand. Although this regime represents a very small portion of total ejected mass in laboratory experiments, it comprises a greater percentage of growth for larger craters.     

Hybrid Simulation of Collisionless Shock Formation in Support of Laboratory Experiments at Unr

The problem of producing collisionless shocks in the laboratory is of great interest for space and astrophysical plasmas. One approach is based on the idea of combining strong magnetic field (up to 100 Tesla) created during a Z-pinch discharge with a plasma flow produced in the process of the interaction of a laser pulse with a solid target. In support of laboratory experiments we present hybrid simulations of the interaction of the plasma flow with frozen in it magnetic field, with the spherical obstacle. Parameters of the flow correspond to a laser plasma ablation produced in the laboratory during irradiation of the target by a 3 J laser. Magnetic fields in the plasma flow and around the obstacle are created by the currents produced by the pulse power ZEBRA voltage generator. With the appropriate set of initial conditions imposed on the flow collisionless shocks can be created in such a system. Using independent generators for plasma flow and magnetic field allows for the exploration of a wide range of shock parameters. We present simulations of the formation of supercritical collisionless shock relevant to the experiment, performed with the 2D version of the hybrid code based on the CAM-CL algorithm [Planet. Space Sci. 51, 649, 2003].     

Infrared studies at the ice laboratory of Alcoy

At present, there are few laboratory spectra of analogs of astrophysical interest in the far-infrared range (FIR). Laboratory infrared (IR) spectra of simple ices and its mixtures obtained at low temperature and pressure are found mainly up to 25 μm, and few up to 200 μm. On the other hand, there are some spectra for carbonaceous material and silicates up to 2000 μm. Our laboratory is equipped with an IR spectrometer that integrates a Michelson interferometer with a resolution better than 0.25 cm⁻¹ and that operates under vacuum conditions of 10⁻¹ mbar. There is also a silicon bolometer, a very high-sensitivity detector in comparison with the standard deuterated triglycine sulfate (DTGS) detectors. The use of the bolometer and the possibility of working under vacuum conditions inside the optics and the sample compartment of the spectrometer allow obtaining high-sensitivity spectra free from H₂O vapor and CO₂ gas bands. Those conditions are necessary to obtain high-quality spectra in the FIR where absorption bands are much less intense than those in the mid-IR region. In our laboratory there is also a high-vacuum chamber that allows different studies on ices deposited onto a cold finger. We have already carried out experiments on the study of ice density as a function of temperature, UV irradiation of ices, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and UV-vis reflectance. In this work, we present the design of the experimental setup we are building to carry out different experiments simultaneously on the same ice sample, including spectra measurements in the mid-IR range (MIR) and the FIR. This design integrates jointly the IR spectrometer, the high-vacuum chamber and the silicon bolometer. Lastly, we show a spectrum we have obtained of a solid of astrophysical interest such as crystalline forsterite grains by using the polyethylene pellet technique.     

Cross-calibration of DIMM monitors at Oukaimden observatory and Marrakesh site

Over the past years, several differential image motion monitors (DIMM) have been built almost everywhere. The DIMM instrument is made up of simple material such as telescope, mask, camera ..., and it is widely used in seeing measurement campaigns. In order to carry out a prospecting campaign, for the European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) project, in the Moroccan High Atlas, we have built a new DIMM instrument in our laboratory. To characterize this instrument, we have carried out a cross-calibration between DIMM monitors using different configurations. In this paper we will present the results of those various experiments respectively at Oukaimden site and at the “École Normal Supérieure” (ENS) in the city of Marrakech.     

Electromagnetic ion waves in cold relativistic plasmas

The high-energy processes which occur in many astrophysical objects have motivated recent studies (e.g., Tsintsadze and Tsikarishvili, 1976; Ferrariet al., 1978; Sweeney and Stewart, 1978) of large amplitude wave propagation in plasmas. Such investigations are also of interest for laboratory experiments where strong laser radiation interacts with a high-density target. In the present paper we shall show that even rather small amplitude waves in the presence of an external magnetic field can induce particle velocities which are comparable to the velocity of light. In this ultrarelativistic limit we shall demonstrate that two completely new types of circularly polarized waves appear and that under certain conditions, modulational instabilities occur. Finally we look at the possibility to relate the amplitudes and wavelengths of such waves to pulsar data.     

Scaling laws for radiating fluids: the pillar of laboratory astrophysics

In this paper, we derive the scaling laws for different radiating fluids. The studied regimes are relevant for both laboratory astrophysics and High Energy Density Physics. Using Lie groups theory, we obtain scaling laws, the similarity properties and the number of free parameters to rescale experiments.     

The yield of ionization in critical ionization velocity space experiments

We compare the conditions in laboratory and space critical ionization velocity (CIV) experiments. One significant difference that comes to light is the rapid expansion of the neutral cloud in space experiments, which does not take place in the laboratory. This has important ramifications for the ultimate ionization yield if there is a time delay in the ignition of the CIV discharge. We find that a simple kinetic model implies that the delay time of CIV ignition is a critical factor in determining the ultimate yield of the experiment. Although the delay time is difficult to calculate precisely, we provide some estimates that predict low CIV yield for typical space experimental geometries, densities and expansion rates. We examine the possibility of the variation of experimental conditions to maximize yield, but find that natural limitations in the design of space experiments may lead to low yields in the best of circumstances. This implies that experiments to date neither prove nor disprove the relevance of the CIV process to cosmology.     

Laboratory planetary physics using intense heavy ion beams at the Facility for Antiprotons and Ion Research at Darmstadt: the HEDgeHOB collaboration

Development of ultra-high power lasers has lead to the very interesting and important field of Laboratory Astrophysics. Recent progress and expected near future developments in the technology of strongly bunched intense particle beams has opened up the possibility of studying planetary interiors in the laboratory which hopefully will eventually converge in the new field of Laboratory Planetary Physics. GSI Helmholzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt is a well known laboratory worldwide due to its unique particle accelerator facilities. Construction of the new huge accelerator complex, the Facility for Antiprotons and Ion Research (FAIR), will substantially improve the existing capabilities of the GSI. A dedicated program named, HEDgeHOB, that aims to study different problems in High Energy Density (HED) Physics at the FAIR facility, has been proposed. One of these proposed experiments LAPLAS (LAboratory PLAnetary Science), aim to study materials at extreme conditions as relevant for the interiors of giant planets. In this paper we present simulation results that show that various regions of the high-pressure phase diagram of water can be probed within the LAPLAS experiments. For instance, the plasma and the superionic phase are predicted to occur in the interior of water-rich planets such as Uranus and Neptune as well as in extrasolar planets such as GJ 436b.     

Numerical simulations of impacts involving porous bodies: II. Comparison with laboratory experiments

In this paper, we compare the outcome of high-velocity impact experiments on porous targets, composed of pumice, with the results of simulations by a 3D SPH hydrocode in which a porosity model has been implemented. The different populations of small bodies of our Solar System are believed to be composed, at least partially, of objects with a high degree of porosity. To describe the fragmentation of such porous objects, a different model is needed than that used for non-porous bodies. In the case of porous bodies, the impact process is not only driven by the presence of cracks which propagate when a stress threshold is reached, it is also influenced by the crushing of pores and compaction. Such processes can greatly affect the whole body's response to an impact. Therefore, another physical model is necessary to improve our understanding of the collisional process involving porous bodies. Such a model has been developed recently and introduced successfully in a 3D SPH hydrocode [Jutzi, M., Benz, W., Michel, P., 2008. Icarus 198, 242-255]. Basic tests have been performed which already showed that it is implemented in a consistent way and that theoretical solutions are well reproduced. However, its full validation requires that it is also capable of reproducing the results of real laboratory impact experiments. Here we present simulations of laboratory experiments on pumice targets for which several of the main material properties have been measured. We show that using the measured material properties and keeping the remaining free parameters fixed, our numerical model is able to reproduce the outcome of these experiments carried out under different impact conditions. This first complete validation of our model, which will be tested for other porous materials in the future, allows us to start addressing problems at larger scale related to small bodies of our Solar System, such as collisions in the Kuiper Belt or the formation of a family by the disruption of a porous parent body in the main asteroid belt.     

Virtual MHD Jets on Grids

As network performance has outpaced computational power and storage capacity, a new paradigm has evolved to enable the sharing of geographically distributed resources. This paradigm is known as Grid computing and aims to offer access to distributed resource irrespective of their physical location. Many national, European and international projects have been launched during the last years trying to explore the Grid and to change the way we are doing our everyday work. In Ireland, we have started the CosmoGrid project that is a collaborative project aimed to provide high performance super-computing environments. This will help to address complex problems such as magnetohydrodynamic outflows and jets in order to model and numerically simulate them. Indeed, the numerical modeling of plasma jets requires massive computations, due to the wide range of spatial-temporal scales involved. We present here the first jet simulations and their corresponding models that could help to understand results from laboratory experiments.     

引力波、引力波源和引力波探测实验

引力波是爱因斯坦和其他物理学家提出的关于广义相对论的四大预言之一。除了PSR1 91 3 + 1 6引力辐射阻尼的观测提供了引力波存在的间接证据外 ,科学家至今仍没有在实验室中确证引力波的存在。由于人类目前的技术水平还不可能在实验室中产生强度可供探测的引力波 ,而宇宙中存在大量大质量、高速运动的天体 ,有可能产生较强的引力波 ,天体引力波源自然成为现阶段科学家研究引力波的首选。本文介绍广义相对论框架下预言的引力波性质 ,引力波探测的理论依据 ,共振型棒式天线和激光干涉仪两大类探测器的基本原理 ,引力波探测实验的现状和面临的困难 ,科学家采取的对策 ,以及爆发型和连续型两类天体引力波源。最后介绍了正在计划中的几个引力波探测空间实验     

Simulating Martian regolith in the laboratory

Regolith and dust cover the surfaces of the Solar Systems solid bodies, and thus constitute the visible surface of these objects. The topmost layers also interact with space or the atmosphere in the case of Mars, Venus and Titan. Surface probes have been proposed, studied and flown to some of these worlds. Landers and some of the mechanisms they carry, e.g. sampling devices, drills and subsurface probes (“moles”) will interact with the porous surface layer. The absence of true extraterrestrial test materials in ample quantities restricts experiments to the use of soil or regolith analogue materials. Several standardized soil simulants have been developed and produced and are commonly used for a variety of laboratory experiments. In this paper we intend to give an overview of some of the most important soil simulants, and describe experiments (penetrometry, thermal conductivity, aeolian transport, goniometry, spectroscopy and exobiology) made in various European laboratory facilities.     

The shape distribution of boulders on Asteroid 25143 Itokawa: Comparison with fragments from impact experiments

Laboratory impact experiments have found that the shape of fragments over a broad size range is distributed around the mean value of the axial ratio 2:√2:1, which is independent of a wide range of experimental conditions. We report the shape statistics of boulders with size of 0.1-30 m on the surface of Asteroid 25143 Itokawa based on high-resolution images obtained by the Hayabusa spacecraft in order to investigate whether their shape distribution is similar to the distribution obtained for fragments (smaller than 0.1 m) in laboratory impact experiments. We also investigated the shapes of boulders with size of 0.1-150 m on Asteroid 433 Eros using a few arbitrary selected images by the NEAR spacecraft, in order to compare those with the shapes on Asteroid Itokawa. In addition, the shapes of small- and fast-rotating asteroids (diameter <200 m and rotation period <1 h), which are natural fragments from past impact events among asteroids, were inferred from archived light curve data taken by ground-based telescopes. The results show that the shape distributions of laboratory fragments are similar to those of the boulders on Eros and of the small- and fast-rotating asteroids, but are different from those on Itokawa. However, we propose that the apparent difference between the boulders of Itokawa and the laboratory fragments is due to the migration of boulders. Therefore, we suggest that the shape distributions of the boulders ranging from 0.1 to 150 m in size and the small- and fast-rotating asteroids are similar to those obtained for the fragments generated in laboratory impact experiments.     

On the non-Gaussian errors in high-z supernovae type Ia data

The nature of random errors in any data set is Gaussian, which is a well established fact according to the Central Limit Theorem. Supernovae type Ia data have played a crucial role in major discoveries in cosmology. Unlike in laboratory experiments, astronomical measurements cannot be performed in controlled situations. Thus, errors in astronomical data can be more severe in terms of systematics and non-Gaussianity compared to those of laboratory experiments. In this paper, we use the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic to test non-Gaussianity in high-z supernovae data. We apply this statistic to four data sets, i.e., Gold data(2004),Gold data(2007), the Union2 catalog and the Union2.1 data set for our analysis. Our results show that in all four data sets the errors are consistent with a Gaussian distribution.     

The SMART-1 AMIE experiment: implication to the lunar opposition effect

The lunar surface reveals a sharp opposition effect, which is to be explained by the shadowing and coherent backscattering mechanisms. Generalizing the radiative transfer theory via Monte Carlo methods, we are carrying out studies of backscattering in regolith-like scattering media. We have also started systematic laboratory measurements of structural simulators of lunar regolith. The SMART-1 AMIE and D-CIXS/XSM experiments provide us a unique opportunity for a simultaneous multiwavelength study of the lunar regolith close to opposition, since the SMART-1 spacecraft will pass over several different types of lunar surface at zero phase angles. Results of our theoretical and laboratory investigations can be used as a basis to interpret the SMART-1 AMIE and D-CIXS/XSM experiments. In particular, it seems to be possible to estimate regional variations of regolith particle volume fraction and their size. A short review of observational, experimental and theoretical works is also presented here.     

Laboratory Exploration of Solar Energetic Phenomena

The solar atmosphere displays a wide variety of dynamic phenomena driven by the interaction of magnetic fields and plasma. In particular, plasma jets in the solar chromosphere and corona, coronal heating, solar flares and coronal mass ejections all point to the presence of magnetic phenomena such as reconnection, flux cancellation, the formation of magnetic islands, and plasmoids. While we can observe the signatures and gross features of such phenomena we cannot probe the essential physics driving them, given the spatial resolution of current instrumentation. Flexible and well-controlled laboratory experiments, scaled to solar parameters, open unique opportunities to reproduce the relevant unsteady phenomena under various simulated solar conditions. The ability to carefully control these parameters in the laboratory allows one to diagnose the dynamical processes which occur and to apply the knowledge gained to the understanding of similar processes on the Sun, in addition directing future solar observations and models. This talk introduces the solar phenomena and reviews the contributions made by laboratory experimentation.     

Outgassing of icy bodies in the Solar System – II: Heat transport in dry,porous surface dust layers

In this work, we present a new model for the heat conductivity of porous dust layers in vacuum, based on an existing solution of the heat transfer equation of single spheres in contact. This model is capable of distinguishing between two different types of dust layers: dust layers composed of single particles (simple model) and dust layers consisting of individual aggregates (complex model). Additionally, we describe laboratory experiments, which were used to measure the heat conductivity of porous dust layers, in order to test the model. We found that the model predictions are in an excellent agreement with the experimental results, if we include radiative heat transport in the model. This implies that radiation plays an important role for the heat transport in porous materials. Furthermore, the influence of this new model on the Hertz factor are demonstrated and the implications of this new model on the modeling of cometary activity are discussed. Finally, the limitations of this new model are critically reviewed.     

Density and refractive index of binary CH4, N2 and CO2 ice mixtures

In this work we present the results of a series of laboratory experiments performed to obtain the density and the real part of the refractive index of binary mixtures of ices of astrophysical interest. Densities of CO₂:CH₄ mixtures obey the expected weighted mean and the other binary mixtures have densities up to 20% lower than expected. Refractive index for all the binary mixtures deviates up to 5% from the theoretical, obtaining higher values than expected for CO₂:CH₄ and lower values than predicted for CO₂:N₂ and CH₄:N₂.     

A HED Laboratory Astrophysics Testbed Comes of Age: JET Deflection via Cross Winds

We present new data from High-Energy Density (HED) laboratory experiments designed to explore the interaction of a heavy hypersonic radiative jet with a cross wind. The jets are generated with the MAGPIE pulsed power machine where converging conical plasma flows are produced from a cylindrically symmetric array of inclined wires. Radiative hypersonic jets emerge from the convergence point. The cross wind is generated by ablation of a plastic foil via soft-X-rays from the plasma convergence region. Our experiments show that the jets are deflected by the action of the cross wind with the angle of deflection dependent on the proximity of the foil. Shocks within the jet beam are apparent in the data. Analysis of the data shows that the interaction of the jet and cross wind is collisional and therefore in the hydrodynamic regime. We consider the astrophysical relevance of these experiments applying published models of jet deflection developed for AGN and YSOs. We also present results of 3-D numerical simulations of jet deflection using a new astrophysical Adaptive Mesh Refinement code. These simulations show highly structured shocks occurring within the beam similar to what was observed in the experiments.     

Determination of physical properties of a planetary surface by measuring the deceleration of a probe upon impact: Application to Titan

We report scale model laboratory experiments showing how an impact accelerometer on a planetary probe (based on the Huygens probe Phase A configuration) can provide significant information on the mechanical characteristics of the surface. In particular, solid and liquid surfaces can be discriminated. The density of liquids can in principle be determined from the peak deceleration, thereby providing a constraint on composition, although experimental uncertainties present challenges to the accuracy of this method.