# Giant ripples on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko sculpted by sunset thermal wind [CL]

Explaining the unexpected presence of dune-like patterns at the surface of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko requires conceptual and quantitative advances in the understanding of surface and outgassing processes. We show here that vapor flow emitted by the comet around its perihelion spreads laterally in a surface layer, due to the strong pressure difference between zones illuminated by sunlight and those in shadow. For such thermal winds to be dense enough to transport grains — ten times greater than previous estimates — outgassing must take place through a surface porous granular layer, and that layer must be composed of grains whose roughness lowers cohesion consistently with contact mechanics. The linear stability analysis of the problem, entirely tested against laboratory experiments, quantitatively predicts the emergence of bedforms in the observed wavelength range, and their propagation at the scale of a comet revolution. Although generated by a rarefied atmosphere, they are paradoxically analogous to ripples emerging on granular beds submitted to viscous shear flows. This quantitative agreement shows that our understanding of the coupling between hydrodynamics and sediment transport is able to account for bedform emergence in extreme conditions and provides a reliable tool to predict the erosion and accretion processes controlling the evolution of small solar system bodies.

P. Jia, B. Andreotti and P. Claudin
Thu, 9 Mar 17
11/54

Comments: 37 pages, 13 figures, 1 table

# Visco-rotational shear instability of Keplerian granular flows [EPA]

We present the linear rheological instability triggered by the interplay of the shear rheology and Keplerian differential rotation of incompressible dense granular fluids. Instability sets in granular fluids, where the viscosity parameter grows faster than the square of the local shear rate (strain rate) at constant pressure. Found instability can play a crucial role in the formation of observed structures in planetary rings, as well as promote structure formation in protoplanetary disks dense granular material.

Fri, 24 Feb 17
38/50

# An experimental study of low-velocity impacts into granular material in reduced gravity [EPA]

In order to improve our understanding of landing on small bodies and of asteroid evolution, we use our novel drop tower facility to perform low-velocity (2-40 cm s^-1), shallow impact experiments of a 10 cm diameter aluminum sphere into quartz sand in low effective gravities (~0.2-1 m s^-2). Using in situ accelerometers, we measure the acceleration profile during the impacts and determine the peak accelerations, collision durations and maximum penetration depth. We find that the penetration depth scales linearly with the collision velocity but is independent of the effective gravity for the experimental range tested, and that the collision duration is independent of both the effective gravity and the collision velocity. No rebounds are observed in any of the experiments. Our low-gravity experimental results indicate that the transition from the quasi-static regime to the inertial regime occurs for impact energies two orders of magnitude smaller than in similar impact experiments under terrestrial gravity. The lower energy regime change may be due to the increased hydrodynamic drag of the surface material in our experiments, but may also support the notion that the quasi-static regime reduces as the effective gravity becomes lower.

N. Murdoch, I. Martinez, C. Sunday, et. al.
Tue, 21 Feb 17
48/70

# A pure hydrodynamic instability in shear flows and its application to astrophysical accretion disks [HEAP]

We provide the possible resolution for the century old problem of hydrodynamic shear flows, which are apparently stable in linear analysis but shown to be turbulent in astrophysically observed data and experiments. This mismatch is noticed in a variety of systems, from laboratory to astrophysical flows. There are so many uncountable attempts made so far to resolve this mismatch, beginning with the early work of Kelvin, Rayleigh, and Reynolds towards the end of the nineteenth century. Here we show that the presence of stochastic noise, whose inevitable presence should not be neglected in the stability analysis of shear flows, leads to pure hydrodynamic linear instability therein. This explains the origin of turbulence, which has been observed/interpreted in astrophysical accretion disks, laboratory experiments and direct numerical simulations. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first solution to the long standing problem of hydrodynamic instability of Rayleigh stable flows.

Thu, 4 Aug 16
70/70

Comments: 14 pages including 10 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ

# Astromaterial Science and Nuclear Pasta [HEAP]

The heavens contain a variety of materials that range from conventional to extraordinary and extreme. For this colloquium, we define Astromaterial Science as the study of materials, in astronomical objects, that are qualitatively denser than materials on earth. Astromaterials can have unique properties, related to their density, such as extraordinary mechanical strength, or alternatively be organized in ways similar to more conventional materials. The study of astromaterials may suggest ways to improve terrestrial materials. Likewise, advances in the science of conventional materials may allow new insights into astromaterials. We discuss Coulomb crystals in the interior of cold white dwarfs and in the crust of neutron stars and review the limited observations of how stars freeze. We apply astromaterial science to the generation of gravitational waves. According to Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity accelerating masses radiate gravitational waves. However, very strong materials may be needed to vigorously accelerate large masses in order to produce continuous gravitational waves that are observable in present detectors. We review large-scale molecular dynamics simulations of the breaking stress of neutron star crust that suggest it is the strongest material known, some ten billion times stronger than steel. Nuclear pasta is an example of a soft astromaterial. It is expected near the base of the neutron star crust at densities of ten to the fourteen grams per cubic centimeter. Competition between nuclear attraction and Coulomb repulsion rearrange neutrons and protons into complex non-spherical shapes such as flat plates (lasagna) or thin rods (spaghetti). We review semi-classical molecular dynamics simulations of nuclear pasta. We illustrate some of the shapes that are possible and discuss transport properties including shear viscosity and thermal and electrical conductivities.

M. Caplan and C. Horowitz
Tue, 14 Jun 16
50/67

# Cohesion of Amorphous Silica Spheres: Toward a Better Understanding of the Coagulation Growth of Silicate Dust Aggregates [EPA]

Adhesion forces between submicrometer-sized silicate grains play a crucial role in the formation of silicate dust agglomerates, rocky planetesimals, and terrestrial planets. The surface energy of silicate dust particles is the key to their adhesion and rolling forces in a theoretical model based on the contact mechanics. Here we revisit the cohesion of amorphous silica spheres by compiling available data on the surface energy for hydrophilic amorphous silica in various circumstances. It turned out that the surface energy for hydrophilic amorphous silica in a vacuum is a factor of 10 higher than previously assumed. Therefore, the previous theoretical models underestimated the critical velocity for the sticking of amorphous silica spheres, as well as the rolling friction forces between them. With the most plausible value of the surface energy for amorphous silica spheres, theoretical models based on the contact mechanics are in harmony with laboratory experiments. Consequently, we conclude that silicate grains with a radius of $0.1~\mu$m could grow to planetesimals via coagulation in a protoplanetary disk. We argue that the coagulation growth of silicate grains in a molecular cloud is advanced either by organic mantles rather than icy mantles or, if there are no mantles, by nanometer-sized grain radius.

H. Kimura, K. Wada, H. Senshu, et. al.
Fri, 11 Mar 16
23/59

Comments: in The Astrophysical Journal, 812:67 (12pp), 2015 October 10

# Charge-Swapping Q-balls [CL]

Q-balls are non-topological solitonic solutions to a wide class of field theories that possess global symmetries. Here we show that in these same theories there also exists a tower of novel composite Q-ball solutions where, within one composite Q-ball, positive and negative charges co-exist and swap at a frequency lower than the natural frequency of an individual Q-ball. These charge-swapping Q-balls are constructed by assembling Q-balls and anti-Q-balls tightly such that their nonlinear cores overlap. We explain why charge-swapping Q-balls can form and why they swap charges.

E. Copeland, P. Saffin and S. Zhou
Wed, 6 Jan 16
3/43

# The characterisation of irregularly-shaped particles: a re-consideration of finite-sized, porous and fractal grains [CL]

Context. A porous and/or fractal description can generally be applied where particles have undergone coagulation into aggregates. Aims. To characterise finite-sized, porous and fractal particles and to understand the possible limitations of these descriptions. Methods. We use simple structure, lattice and network considerations to determine the structural properties of irregular particles. Results. We find that, for finite-sized aggregates, the terms porosity and fractal dimension may be of limited usefulness and show with some critical and limiting assumptions, that highly-porous aggregates (porosity > 80%) may not be constructable. We also investigate their effective cross-sections using a simple cubic model. Conclusions. In place of the terms porosity and fractal dimension, for finite-sized aggregates, we propose the readily-determinable quantities of inflation, I (a measure of the solid filling factor and size), and dimensionality, D (a measure of the shape). These terms can be applied to characterise any form of particle, be it an irregular, homogeneous solid or a highly-extended aggregate.

A. Jones
Mon, 9 Nov 15
50/55

# Parking-garage structures in astrophysics and biophysics [CL]

A striking shape was recently observed for the cellular organelle endoplasmic reticulum consisting of stacked sheets connected by helical ramps. This shape is interesting both for its biological function, to synthesize proteins using an increased surface area for ribosome factories, and its geometric properties that may be insensitive to details of the microscopic interactions. In the present work, we find very similar shapes in our molecular dynamics simulations of the nuclear pasta phases of dense nuclear matter that are expected deep in the crust of neutron stars. There are dramatic differences between nuclear pasta and terrestrial cell biology. Nuclear pasta is 14 orders of magnitude denser than the aqueous environs of the cell nucleus and involves strong interactions between protons and neutrons, while cellular scale biology is dominated by the entropy of water and complex assemblies of biomolecules. Nonetheless the very similar geometry suggests both systems may have similar coarse-grained dynamics and that the shapes are indeed determined by geometrical considerations, independent of microscopic details. Many of our simulations self-assemble into flat sheets connected by helical ramps. These ramps may impact the thermal and electrical conductivities, viscosity, shear modulus, and breaking strain of neutron star crust. The interaction we use, with Coulomb frustration, may provide a simple model system that reproduces many biologically important shapes.

C. Horowitz, D. Berry, M. Caplan, et. al.
Wed, 2 Sep 15
28/87

# Adiabatic Invariance of Oscillons/I-balls [CL]

Real scalar fields are known to fragment into spatially localized and long-lived solitons called oscillons or $I$-balls. We prove the adiabatic invariance of the oscillons/$I$-balls for a potential that allows periodic motion even in the presence of non-negligible spatial gradient energy. We show that such potential is uniquely determined to be the quadratic one with a logarithmic correction, for which the oscillons/$I$-balls are absolutely stable. For slightly different forms of the scalar potential dominated by the quadratic one, the oscillons/$I$-balls are only quasi-stable, because the adiabatic charge is only approximately conserved. We check the conservation of the adiabatic charge of the $I$-balls in numerical simulation by slowly varying the coefficient of logarithmic corrections. This unambiguously shows that the longevity of oscillons/$I$-balls is due to the adiabatic invariance.

M. Kawasaki, F. Takahashi and N. Takeda
Thu, 6 Aug 15
10/48

Sediment transport along the surface drives geophysical phenomena as diverse as wind erosion and dune formation. The main length-scale controlling the dynamics of sediment erosion and deposition is the saturation length $L_\mathrm{s}$, which characterizes the flux response to a change in transport conditions. Here we derive, for the first time, an expression predicting $L_\mathrm{s}$ as a function of the average sediment velocity under different physical environments. Our expression accounts for both the characteristics of sediment entrainment and the saturation of particle and fluid velocities, and has only two physical parameters which can be estimated directly from independent experiments. We show that our expression is consistent with measurements of $L_\mathrm{s}$ in both aeolian and subaqueous transport regimes over at least five orders of magnitude in the ratio of fluid and particle density, including on Mars.