Numerical Simulations of Hypervelocity Micrometeoroid Impacts: Rocky Impactors onto Icy Targets and the Role of Porosity

Abstract

In the outer Solar System, for example in the Saturnian system, a planet's strong gravity attracts micrometeoroids and generates hypervelocity impacts on bodies such as rings and satellites. Micrometeoroids are seemingly non-icy, whereas the targets are typically icy, and both the impactor and the target may span a wide range of porosities. In this study, we perform three-dimensional iSALE simulations of hypervelocity impacts of rocky impactors onto icy targets, varying the impact angle and the porosities of the impactor and target ($\phi_{\rm imp}$ and $\phi_{\rm tar}$). We consider two end-member porosities (0% and 90%) for oblique ($45^\circ$) impacts. At an impact velocity of 30 km/s, characteristic of Saturn's rings, we find that the morphology of early-stage crater formation varies significantly with porosity, transitioning from deep-penetration, narrow-channel cavities ($\phi_{\rm imp}=0$, $\phi_{\rm tar}=90%$) to very shallow craters driven by near-surface vapor blowoff ($\phi_{\rm imp}=90%$, $\phi_{\rm tar}=0%$), with intermediate, more hemispherical cavity shapes when the porosities are comparable. Here, we focus on the thermodynamic fate of the impactor, which represents the exogenic material responsible for modifying the target surface. The impactor material is strongly heated and is efficiently vaporized regardless of the porosities of the impactor and target. However, the peak pressure and peak temperature experienced by the impactor vary by nearly an order of magnitude. These results imply that hypervelocity impacts occurring, for example, in Saturn's rings efficiently vaporize exogenic non-icy impactors upon impact, while the subsequent thermodynamic pathways $-$ such as condensation and chemical evolution $-$ may differ depending on the thermodynamic conditions. Our results are expected to be applicable to a variety of planetary systems.