Impact vaporization: Late time phenomena from experiments

Abstract

While simple airflow produced by the outward movement of the ejecta curtain can be scaled to large dimensions, the interaction between an impact-vaporized component and the ejecta curtain is more complicated. The goal of these experiments was to examine such interaction in a real system involving crater growth, ejection of material, two phased mixtures of gas and dust, and strong pressure gradients. The results will be complemented by theoretical studies at laboratory scales in order to separate the various parameters for planetary scale processes. These experiments prompt, however, the following conclusions that may have relevance at broader scales. First, under near vacuum or low atmospheric pressures, an expanding vapor cloud scours the surrounding surface in advance of arriving ejecta. Second, the effect of early-time vaporization is relatively unimportant at late-times. Third, the overpressure created within the crater cavity by significant vaporization results in increased cratering efficiency and larger aspect ratios.