Dust charging and transport on airless planetary bodies

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• 作者：X. Wang ; J. Schwan ; H.‐W. Hsu ; E. Grün ; M. Horányi
• 刊名：Geophysical Research Letters
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：28 June 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：43
• 期：12
• 页码：6103-6110
• 全文大小：830.1KB
• ISSN：1944-8007

文摘

We report on laboratory experiments to shed light on dust charging and transport that have been suggested to explain a variety of unusual phenomena on the surfaces of airless planetary bodies. We have recorded micron-sized insulating dust particles jumping to several centimeters high with an initial speed of ~0.6 m/s under ultraviolet illumination or exposure to plasmas, resulting in an equivalent height of ~0.11 m on the lunar surface that is comparable to the height of the so-called lunar horizon glow. Lofted large aggregates and surface mobilization are related to many space observations. We experimentally show that the emission and re-absorption of photoelectron and/or secondary electron at the walls of microcavities formed between neighboring dust particles below the surface are responsible for generating unexpectedly large negative charges and intense particle-particle repulsive forces to mobilize and lift off dust particles.