Peripheral Collisions of Ice-covered Silica Dust Grains

Abstract

Collisions with ice-covered silica grains are studied using molecular-dynamics simulation, with a focus on the influence of the impact parameter on the collision dynamics. The ice mantle induces an attractive interaction between the colliding grains, which is caused by the melting of the mantles in the collision zone and their fusion. For noncentral collisions, this attractive interaction leads to a deflection of the grain trajectories and, at smaller velocities, to the agglomeration ("sticking") of the colliding grains. The bouncing velocity, which is defined as the smallest velocity at which grains bounce off each other rather than stick, shows only a negligible dependence on the impact parameter. Close to the bouncing velocity, a temporary bridge builds up between the colliding grains, which, however, ruptures when the collided grains separate and relaxes to the grains. At higher velocities, the ice in the collision zone is squeezed out from between the silica cores, forming an expanding disk, which ultimately tears and dissolves into a multitude of small droplets. An essential fraction of the ice cover in the collision zone is then set free to space. Astrophysical implications include the possibility that organic species that might be present in small concentrations on the ice surface or at the ice-silica interface are liberated to space in such noncentral collisions.