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Fabio Ferrari

Publications and source records attributed to Fabio Ferrari.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2022

After DART: Using the first full-scale test of a kinetic impactor to inform a future planetary defense mission

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is the first full-scale test of an asteroid deflection technology. Results from the hypervelocity kinetic impact and Earth-based observations, coupled with LICIACube and the later Hera mission, will result in measurement of the momentum transfer efficiency accurate to ~10% and characterization of the Didymos binary system. But DART is a single experiment; how could these results be used in a future planetary defense necessity involving a different asteroid? We examine what aspects of Dimorphos's response to kinetic impact will be constrained by DART results; how these constraints will help refine knowledge of the physical properties of asteroidal materials and predictive power of impact simulations; what information about a potential Earth impactor could be acquired before a deflection effort; and how design of a deflection mission should be informed by this understanding. We generalize the momentum enhancement factor $β$, showing that a particular direction-specific $β$ will be directly determined by the DART results, and that a related direction-specific $β$ is a figure of merit for a kinetic impact mission. The DART $β$ determination constrains the ejecta momentum vector, which, with hydrodynamic simulations, constrains the physical properties of Dimorphos's near-surface. In a hypothetical planetary defense exigency, extrapolating these constraints to a newly discovered asteroid will require Earth-based observations and benefit from in-situ reconnaissance. We show representative predictions for momentum transfer based on different levels of reconnaissance and discuss strategic targeting to optimize the deflection and reduce the risk of a counterproductive deflection in the wrong direction.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2022

Effects of impact and target parameters on the results of a kinetic impactor: predictions for the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft will impact into the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022 as a test of the kinetic impactor technique for planetary defense. The efficiency of the deflection following a kinetic impactor can be represented using the momentum enhancement factor, Beta, which is dependent on factors such as impact geometry and the specific target material properties. Currently, very little is known about Dimorphos and its material properties that introduces uncertainty in the results of the deflection efficiency observables, including crater formation, ejecta distribution, and Beta. The DART Impact Modeling Working Group (IWG) is responsible for using impact simulations to better understand the results of the DART impact. Pre-impact simulation studies also provide considerable insight into how different properties and impact scenarios affect momentum enhancement following a kinetic impact. This insight provides a basis for predicting the effects of the DART impact and the first understanding of how to interpret results following the encounter. Following the DART impact, the knowledge gained from these studies will inform the initial simulations that will recreate the impact conditions, including providing estimates for potential material properties of Dimorphos and Beta resulting from DARTs impact. This paper summarizes, at a high level, what has been learned from the IWG simulations and experiments in preparation for the DART impact. While unknown, estimates for reasonable potential material properties of Dimorphos provide predictions for Beta of 1-5, depending on end-member cases in the strength regime.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2022

Dynamical Evolution of the Didymos-Dimorphos Binary Asteroid as Rubble Piles following the DART Impact

Previous efforts have modeled the Didymos system as two irregularly shaped rigid bodies, although it is likely that one or both components are in fact rubble piles. Here, we relax the rigid-body assumption to quantify how this affects the spin and orbital dynamics of the system following the DART impact. Given known fundamental differences between our simulation codes, we find that faster rigid-body simulations produce nearly the same result as rubble-pile models in scenarios with a moderate value for the momentum enhancement factor, $β$ ($β{\sim}3$) and an ellipsoidal secondary. This indicates that the rigid-body approach is likely adequate for propagating the post-impact dynamics necessary to meet DART Mission requirements. Although, if Dimorphos has a highly-irregular shape or structure, or if $β$ is unexpectedly large, then rubble-pile effects may become important. If Dimorphos's orbit and spin state are sufficiently excited, then surface particle motion is also possible. However, these simulations are limited in their resolution and range of material parameters, so they serve as a demonstration of principle, and Future work is required to fully understand the likelihood and magnitude of surface motion.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2022

Predictions for the Dynamical States of the Didymos System before and after the Planned DART Impact

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft is planned to impact the natural satellite of (65803) Didymos, Dimorphos, around 23:14 UTC on 26 September 2022, causing a reduction in its orbital period that will be measurable with ground-based observations. This test of kinetic impactor technology will provide the first estimate of the momentum transfer enhancement factor $β$ at a realistic scale, wherein ejecta from the impact provides an additional deflection to the target. Earth-based observations, the LICIACube spacecraft (to be detached from DART prior to impact), and ESA's follow-up Hera mission to launch in 2024, will provide additional characterization of the deflection test. Together Hera and DART comprise the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) cooperation between NASA and ESA. Here the predicted dynamical states of the binary system upon arrival and after impact are presented. The assumed dynamically relaxed state of the system will be excited by the impact, leading to an increase in eccentricity and slight tilt of the orbit together with enhanced libration of Dimorphos with amplitude dependent on the currently poorly known target shape. Free rotation around the moon's long axis may also be triggered and the orbital period will experience variations from seconds to minutes over timescales of days to months. Shape change of either body due to cratering or mass wasting triggered by crater formation and ejecta may affect $β$ but can be constrained through additional measurements. Both BYORP and gravity tides may cause measurable orbital changes on the timescale of Hera's rendezvous.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2021

Libration-induced Orbit Period Variations Following the DART Impact

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission will be the first test of a kinetic impactor as a means of planetary defense. In late 2022, DART will collide with Dimorphos, the secondary in the Didymos binary asteroid system. The impact will cause a momentum transfer from the spacecraft to the binary asteroid, changing the orbit period of Dimorphos and forcing it to librate in its orbit. Owing to the coupled dynamics in binary asteroid systems, the orbit and libration state of Dimorphos are intertwined. Thus, as the secondary librates, it also experiences fluctuations in its orbit period. These variations in the orbit period are dependent on the magnitude of the impact perturbation, as well as the system's state at impact and the moments of inertia of the secondary. In general, any binary asteroid system whose secondary is librating will have a non-constant orbit period on account of the secondary's fluctuating spin rate. The orbit period variations are typically driven by two modes: a long-period and short-period, each with significant amplitudes on the order of tens of seconds to several minutes. The fluctuating orbit period offers both a challenge and an opportunity in the context of the DART mission. Orbit period oscillations will make determining the post-impact orbit period more difficult, but can also provide information about the system's libration state and the DART impact.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2021

Preliminary mission profile of Hera's Milani CubeSat

CubeSats offer a flexible and low-cost option to increase the scientific and technological return of small-body exploration missions. ESA's Hera mission, the European component of the Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) international collaboration, plans on deploying two CubeSats in the proximity of binary system 65803 Didymos, after arrival in 2027. In this work, we discuss the feasibility and preliminary mission profile of Hera's Milani CubeSat. The CubeSat mission is designed to achieve both scientific and technological objectives. We identify the design challenges and discuss design criteria to find suitable solutions in terms of mission analysis, operational trajectories, and Guidance, Navigation, & Control (GNC) design. We present initial trajectories and GNC baseline, as a result of trade-off analyses. We assess the feasibility of the Milani CubeSat mission and provide a preliminary solution to cover the operational mission profile of Milani in the close-proximity of Didymos system.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2020

The role of fragment shapes in the simulations of asteroids as gravitational aggregates

Remote measurements and in-situ observations confirm the idea that asteroids up to few hundreds of meters in size might be rubble piles. The dynamics of these objects can be studied using N-body simulations of gravitational aggregation. We investigate the role of particle shape in N-body simulations of gravitational aggregation. We study contact interaction mechanisms and the effects of parameters such as surface friction, particle size distribution and number of particles in the aggregate. We discuss the case of rubble pile reshaping under its own self-gravity, with no spin and no external force imposed. We implement the N-body gravitational aggregation problem with contact and collisions between particles of irregular, non-spherical shape. Contact interactions are modeled using a soft-contact method, considering the visco-elastic behavior of particles' surface. We perform numerical simulations to compare the behavior of spherical bodies with that of irregular angular bodies. The simulations are performed starting from aggregates in non-equilibrium state. We allow particles to settle through reshaping until they reach an equilibrium state. Preliminary tests are studied to investigate the quantitative and qualitative behavior of the granular media. The shape of particles plays a relevant role in the settling process of the rubble pile aggregate, affecting both transient dynamics and global properties of the aggregate at equilibrium. In the long term, particle shape dominates over simulation parameters such as surface friction, particle size distribution and number of particles in the aggregate. Spherical particles are not suitable to model accurately the physics of contact interactions between particles of N-body aggregation simulations. Irregular particles are required for a more realistic and accurate representation of the contact interaction mechanisms.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2019

Charm mixing and CPV

In these proceedings, recent results on time-dependent and time-integrated measurements of $C\!P$ violation and of meson mixing in the charm sector are presented, including the first observation of $C\!P$ violation in the charm system.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2018

Selection and processing of calibration samples to measure the particle identification performance of the LHCb experiment in Run 2

Since 2015, with the restart of the LHC for its second run of data taking, the LHCb experiment has been empowered with a dedicated computing model to select and analyse calibration samples to measure the performance of the particle identification (PID) detectors and algorithms. The novel technique was developed within the framework of the innovative trigger model of the LHCb experiment, which relies on online event reconstruction for most of the datasets, reserving offline reconstruction to special physics cases. The strategy to select and process the calibration samples, which includes a dedicated data-processing scheme combining online and offline reconstruction, is discussed. The use of the calibration samples to measure the detector PID performance, and the efficiency of PID requirements across a large range of decay channels, is described. Applications of the calibration samples in data-quality monitoring and validation procedures are also detailed.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2017

Novel strategies at LHCb for particle identification

The LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is performing high precision measurements in the flavour sector. An excellent performance of the particle identification (PID) detectors as well as the development of new data taking techniques are of fundamental importance in order to cope with increasingly harder challenges posed by the LHC Run 2. The approach of data-driven calibration of particle identification performance at LHCb has changed significantly from Run 1 to Run 2 and calibration samples are now selected directly in the LHCb high-level trigger. This change of data-taking paradigm enables larger calibration samples with respect to Run 1 to be collected, giving access to low-level detector informations useful for studies of systematic effects, while retaining the same (or improving) the PID performances observed Run 1.

hep-ex↗