Brownian translation and rotation from the ballistic to the diffusive limit and derivation of the physical properties of dust agglomerates

Ben Schubert, Noah S. Molinski, Ingo von Borstel, Thilo Glißmann, Daniyar Balapanov, Andrei Vedernikov, and Jürgen Blum
Phys. Rev. E 107, 034136 – Published 23 March 2023
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Abstract

We analyzed the translational and rotational Brownian motion of aggregates of micrometer-sized silica spheres under microgravity conditions and in rarefied gas. The experimental data was collected in the form of high-speed recordings using a long-distance microscope as part of the ICAPS (Interactions in Cosmic and Atmospheric Particle Systems) experiment on board of the sounding rocket flight Texus-56. Our data analysis shows that the translational Brownian motion can be used to determine the mass and translational response time of each individual dust aggregate. The rotational Brownian motion additionally provides the moment of inertia and the rotational response time. A shallow positive correlation between mass and response time was found as predicted for aggregate structures with low fractal dimensions. Translational and rotational response times are roughly in agreement. Using the mass and the moment of inertia of each aggregate, we determined the fractal dimension of the aggregate ensemble. Slight deviations from the pure Gaussian one-dimensional displacement statistics were found in the ballistic limit for both the translational and rotational Brownian motion.

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  • Received 15 September 2022
  • Revised 13 February 2023
  • Accepted 24 February 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.107.034136

©2023 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & AstrophysicsPolymers & Soft MatterStatistical Physics & ThermodynamicsGeneral PhysicsFluid DynamicsCondensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Ben Schubert1,*, Noah S. Molinski1, Ingo von Borstel1, Thilo Glißmann1, Daniyar Balapanov2, Andrei Vedernikov2, and Jürgen Blum1

  • 1Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Geophysics and extraterrestrial Physics, Mendelssohnstr. 3, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
  • 2Université Libre de Bruxelles, Microgravity Research Center, CP 165/62 Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

  • *b.schubert@tu-bs.de

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Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 3 — March 2023

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