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Laboratory astrophysics is the study of astrophysical phenomena in the laboratory (Earth- or space-based). This might include various aspects of astrochemistry (chemical reactions under extreme conditions of temperature, density, irradiation), plasma physics, spectroscopy, meteorite analysis, fluid dynamics, and magnetohydrodynamics.
Dissociative recombination of electrons with molecular ions widely occurs in interstellar plasmas but laboratory studies are challenging. Here, the authors provide measurements of dissociative recombination with high-internal state definition for D2H+ ions stored in the cryogenic storage ring.
A precise structure measurement of liquid carbon at pressures of around 1 million atmospheres obtained by in situ X-ray diffraction at an X-ray free-electron laser shows a complex fluid with transient bonding and approximately four nearest neighbours on average.
Electron-only reconnection is ubiquitous in turbulence, but its nature is poorly understood. Using kinetic simulations and analytical theory, the authors point out the key physics that enables its faster-than-standard reconnection rate, and a model is derived to predict the scaling of the rates with system sizes.
Benzene formation via sequential cold ion–molecule reactions is followed experimentally to understand how aromatic molecules are formed in interstellar clouds. Surprisingly, the chain of reactions involving the addition of acetylene terminates at C6H5+.
A suborbital experiment indicates that centimetre-sized clusters of tribocharged submillimetre grains resist erosion by individual grains with collision speeds up to around 0.5 m s–1. The stability of these charged clusters allows them to grow larger than uncharged clusters, enabling the formation of planetesimals in protoplanetary disks.
Nuclear explosives are the most promising method for steering a large asteroid away from Earth and mitigating an impact. Laboratory experiments with X-ray pulses have now mimicked such an event, demonstrating how efficient this technique is.
