Poster title: Experimental Astrophysical Research into Terrestrial growtH (EARTH)

Poster abstract: We introduce a new line of research at the Laboratory for Non-Equilibrium Matter at FCFM - Universidad 
de Chile aimed at investigating the formation of planetesimals in protoplanetary disks from the point of view of granular 
physics. Our goal is to develop experiments that address how different pair-wise interactions and, in general, particle and 
collisional properties, lead to sustained cluster growth and ultimately gravity-accreting planetesimals. We will perform two 
cutting-edge experiments to achieve this. In the first, we will use a free-fall apparatus to observe particle-particle collisions 
and measure electrical charges in the high-vacuum, zero-gravity conditions of protoplanetary disks (PPD). In the second, 
we will probe collisions between large clusters using acoustic levitation. Working with actual meteorite samples, we will, 
for the first time, test the efficacy of same-material tribocharging in PPD clustering. The outcome of such experiments 
will be the most complete phase portrait to date of collisional aggregation efficiency covering features ranging from 
particle and cluster size to particle interaction, particle composition and impact energy. Since both experimental setups 
are currently under construction, the purpose of our poster is to introduce this project to the astrophysics community.