Related papers: Gravity effects on a bio-inspired self-burrowing p…
A loosely packed bed of sand sits precariously on the fence between mechanically stable and flowing states. This has especially strong implications for animals or vehicles needing to navigate sandy environments, which can sink and become…
Self-burrowing robots navigating through granular media benefit from airflow-assisted burrowing, which reduces penetration resistance. However, the mechanisms underlying airflow-granular interactions remain poorly understood. To address…
Proximity sensing detects an object's presence without contact. However, research has rarely explored proximity sensing in granular materials (GM) due to GM's lack of visual and complex properties. In this paper, we propose a…
It has been recently argued that higher dimensional gravity theories may manifest themselves not only at short microscopic distances but also at large cosmological scales. We study the constraints that cosmic microwave background…
Equipment used for site investigation activities like drill rigs are typically large and heavy to provide sufficient reaction mass to overcome the soil's penetration resistance. The need for large and heavy equipment creates challenges for…
In order to improve our understanding of landing on small bodies and of asteroid evolution, we use our novel drop tower facility to perform low-velocity (2-40 cm s^-1), shallow impact experiments of a 10 cm diameter aluminum sphere into…
We investigate the use of quantum probes to accurately determine the strength of the local gravitational field on Earth. Our findings show that delocalized probes generally outperform localized ones, with the precision enhancement scaling…
Understanding how granular materials behave in low gravity is crucial for planetary science and space exploration. It can also help us understand granular phenomena usually hidden by gravity. On Earth, gravity dominates granular behavior,…
In developing mobile robots for exploration on the planetary surface, it is crucial to evaluate the robot's performance, demonstrating the harsh environment in which the robot will actually be deployed. Repeatable experiments in a…
We employ scattering amplitudes in curved space to model the dynamics of a light probe particle with mass $m$ orbiting in the background spacetime induced by a heavy gravitational source with mass $M$. Observables are organized as an…
Conventionally, experiments probing the quantum nature of gravity were thought to be prohibitive due to the extremely high energy scales involved. However, recent and rapid advances at the intersection of quantum information and gravity,…
We discuss a model in which the fundamental scale of gravity is restricted to 10^{-3} eV. An observable modification of gravity occurs simultaneously at the Hubble distance and at around 0.1 mm. These predictions can be tested both by the…
We introduce an instrument for a wide spectrum of experiments on gravities other than our planet's. It is based on a large Atwood machine where one of the loads is a bucket equipped with a single board computer and different sensors. The…
The discovery of cosmic acceleration has stimulated theorists to consider dark energy or modifications to Einstein's General Relativity as possible explanations. The last decade has seen advances in theories that go beyond smooth dark…
A satisfactory theory of quantum gravity may necessitate a drastic modification of our perception of space-time, by giving it a foamy structure at distances comparable to the Planck length. It is argued in this essay that the experimental…
We study the effective field theory that describes the low-energy physics of self-gravitating media. The field content consists of four derivatively coupled scalar fields that can be identified with the internal comoving coordinates of the…
Prediction of flow profiles of slowly sheared granular materials is a major geophysical and industrial challenge. Understanding the role of gravity is particularly important for future planetary exploration in varying gravitational…
The Schrodinger-Newton equation has frequently been studied as a nonlinear modification of the Schrodinger equation incorporating gravitational self-interaction. However, there is no evidence yet as to whether nature actually behaves this…
The objective of a SEE mission is to support development of unification theory by carrying out sensitive gravitational tests capable of determining whether various alternative theories are compatible with nature. Gravitation is a key…
Impact of a solid object onto a small-body surface can be modeled by the solid impact onto a hierarchically structured granular target. Impact drag force model for the hierarchically structured granular target is developed based on the…