Morphology and dynamics of craterlike structures created by recoiling elongated particles.

We study the morphology and dynamics of craterlike structures formed when free-falling, randomly oriented, elongated particles bounce off a flat surface in a single particle scattering mode. The origin of a sharply defined rim with its associated structure, the factors determining the rim diameter, and the scaling of the diameter with impact velocity are examined. The probability distribution of rebounding particle ranges is calculated for a particular example and shown to provide a precursor description of structure formation.