title: Phase transitions in vibrated granular systems in microgravity.
abstract: We numerically investigated various dynamical behaviors of a vibrated granular gas in microgravity. Using the parameters of an earlier Mini-Texus 5 experiment, three-dimensional simulations, based on molecular dynamics, efficiently reproduce experimental results. Using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, four dynamical regimes have been distinguished: gaseous state, partial clustering, complete clustering, and bouncing aggregates. Different grain radii and densities have been considered in order to describe a complete (r,η)-phase diagram. The latter exhibits rich features such as phase transitions and triple points. Our work emphasizes the complexity of diluted granular systems and opens fundamental perspectives.
authors.affiliation: GRASP, Physics Department B5a, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Opsomer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ludewig
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vandewalle