Revisiting sticking property of submillimetre-sized aggregates

ABSTRACT Understanding the physical properties of dust aggregates is of great importance in planetary science. In this study, we revisited the sticking property of submillimetre-sized aggregates. We revealed that the ‘effective surface energy’ model used in previous studies underestimates the critical pulling force needed to separate two sticking aggregates. We also derived a new and simple model of the critical pulling force based on the canonical theory of two contacting spheres. Our findings indicate that we do not need to consider the ‘effective surface energy’ of dust aggregates when discussing the physical properties of loose agglomerates of submillimetre-sized aggregates.