M. I. Zimmerman

Kinetic simulations of kilometer‐scale mini‐magnetosphere formation on the Moon

Kinetic simulations are used to examine the solar winds interaction with a 3 km wide region of strong crustal dipole magnetization on the Moon. In contrast with recent hybrid and implicit particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic anomalies that have aimed to resolve electric fields over several tens of kilometers, kinetic simulations reveal a much smaller scale regime in which magnetically driven ion-electron separation can generate a kV potential difference over a height of less than 200 m. The resulting electric field structure varies considerably between dawn and noon (when the solar wind flows, respectively, horizontally across the surface and vertically down from above) and is strong enough to reflect some ions back into space, consistent with spacecraft observations. Ion velocity and energy distributions are extracted near the surface and are used to derive maps of ion flux and impact energy, and the effects on sputtering and defect formation within the regolith are discussed. However, considerable uncertainty remains in how the surface ion flux evolves throughout a lunar day and how the plasma-surface-magnetic field interaction changes with respect to different magnetic topologies.

Grain‐scale supercharging and breakdown on airless regoliths

Interactions of the solar wind and emitted photoelectrons with airless bodies including asteroids and the Moon have been studied extensively. However, the details of how charged particles interact with the regolith at the scale of a single grain have remained largely uncharacterized. Recent efforts have focused upon determining total surface charge under photoemission and solar wind bombardment and the associated electric field and potential. In this work, theory and simulations are used to show that grain-grain charge differences can exceed classical sheath predictions by several orders of magnitude, sometimes reaching dielectric breakdown levels. Temperature dependent electrical conductivity works against supercharging by allowing current to leak through individual grains; the balance between internal conduction and surface charging controls the maximum possible grain-to-grain electric field. Understanding the finer details of regolith grain charging, conductive equilibrium, and dielectric breakdown will improve future numerical studies of space weathering and dust levitation on airless bodies.

The Statistical Mechanics of Solar Wind Hydroxylation at the Moon, Within Lunar Magnetic Anomalies, and at Phobos

We present a new formalism to describe the outgassing of hydrogen initially implanted by the solar wind protons into exposed soils on airless bodies. The formalism applies a statistical mechanics approach similar to that applied recently to molecular adsorption onto activated surfaces. The key element enabling this formalism is the recognition that the inter-atomic potential between the implanted H and regolith-residing oxides is not of singular value, but possess a distribution of trapped energy values at a given temperature, F(U, T). All subsequent derivations of the outward diffusion and H retention rely on the specific properties of this distribution. We find that solar wind hydrogen can be retained if there are sites in the implantation layer with activation energy values exceeding 0.5 eV. We especially examine the dependence of H retention applying characteristic energy values found previously for irradiated silica and mature lunar samples. We also apply the formalism to two cases that differ from the typical solar wind implantation at the Moon. First, we test for a case of implantation in magnetic anomaly regions where significantly lower energy ions of solar wind origin are expected to be incident with the surface. In magnetic anomalies, H retention is found to be reduced due to the reduced ion flux and shallower depth of implantation. Second, we also apply the model to Phobos where the surface temperature range is not as extreme as the Moon. We find the H atom retention in this second case is higher than the lunar case due to the reduced thermal extremes (that reduces outgassing).

Spillage of lunar polar crater volatiles onto adjacent terrains: The case for dynamic processes

We present an investigation of the release and transport of lunar polar crater volatiles onto topside regions surrounding the cold traps. The volatiles are liberated via surface energization processes associated with the harsh space environment, including solar wind plasma sputtering and impact vaporization. We find that some fraction of these volatiles can migrate from crater floors onto topside regions (those regions directly adjacent to and above the polar crater floors), and that these surrounding terrains should contain a sampling of the material originating within the crater itself. It is concluded that the nature of the volatile content on crater floors can be obtained by sampling the surface volatiles that have migrated or “spilled out” onto the adjacent terrain. This “spillage” effect could make human or robotic prospecting for crater resources significantly easier, since an assessment may not require direct entry into the very harsh polar crater environment. We also suggest that there are dynamic processes actively operating on the crater floors, and we estimate their source rates assuming dynamic equilibrium of the observed water frost and our modeled loss rates.

Signature of gyro-phase drift

Gyro-phase drift is a guiding center drift that is directly dependent on the charging rate limit of dust grains. The effect of introducing a gyro-phase-dependence on the grain charge leads to two orthogonal components of guiding-center drift. One component, referred to here as grad-q drift, results from the time-varying, gyro-phase angle dependent, in-situ -equilibrium grain charge, assuming that the grain charging is instantaneous. For this component, the grain is assumed to be always in its in-situ -equilibrium charge state and this state gyro-synchronously varies with respect to the grains average charge state. The other component, referred to here as the gyro-phase drift, arises from any non-instantaneous-charging-induced modification of the diamagnetic drift and points in the direction of -∇ R Ld (where R Ld is the grain gyro-radius), i.e. the direction associated with increasing magnitude of in-situ -equilibrium charge state. For this component, the grain gyro-synchronously undercharges and overcharges with respect to its gyro-synchronously varying, in-situ -equilibrium charge state. These characteristics are illustrated with a single-particle code for predicting grain trajectory that demonstrates how gyro-phase drift magnitude and direction could be exploited, using an extended version of the presented model, as sensitive indicators of the charging time of dust grains because of the cumulative effect of the ever-changing charge state of a grain making repeated excursions in inhomogeneous plasma over many gyro-periods.

Analytical Model for Gyro-Phase Drift Arising from Abrupt Inhomogeneity

If a magnetized-orbit-charged grain encounters any abrupt inhomogeneity in plasma conditions during a gyro-orbit, such that the resulting in-situ equilibrium charge is significantly different between these regions (q(sub1)/q(sub 2) approximately 2, where q(sub 1) is the in-situ equilibrium charge on one side of the inhomogeneity, q(sub 2) is the in-situ equilibrium charge on the other side, and q(sub1) less than q(sub 2) less than 0), then the capacitive effects of charging and discharging of the dust grain can result in a modification to the orbit-averaged grain trajectory, i.e. gyro-phase drift. The special case of q(sub 1)/q(sub 2) is notioned for the purpose of illustrating the utility of the method. An analytical expression is derived for the grain velocity, assuming a capacitor approximation to the OML charging model. For cases in which a strong electric field suddenly appears in the wake or at the space-plasma-to-crater interface from solar wind and/or ultraviolet illumination and in which a magnetic field permeates an asteroid, comet, or moon, this model could contribute to the interpretation of the distribution of fields and particles.

Numerical investigation of fine-particle gyrophase drift

Summary form only given. The gyration of a dust grain due to the Lorentz force depends on the grain charge among other parameters. Gyrophase-resonant excursions into inhomogeneous regions causing periodic charge-state changes may occur in science and industry dusty-plasma laboratory experiments involving a strong magnetic field and either inhomogeneous UV illumination or inhomogenous plasma potential. A phase lag between the grain charging cycle and the cycle associated with the grains instantaneous surface potential or photocurrent results in a modification to the usual ExB drift, and is known as gyrophase drift [1,2]. The motion of a single dust grain is computed numerically for three different charging models (Orbit-Motion-Limited, Collision-enhanced-current, and Hydrodynamic) while the grain executes its gyro-orbit in inhomogeneous plasma. Parameters are varied, including the ratio of charging timescale to the grain gyroperiod, inhomogeneity length scale to the grain gyroradius, and characteristic axis of the inhomogeneity with respect to the magnetic field direction. The sensitivity of the gyrophase drift upon this model choice will be evaluated by determining the magnitude of the gyrophase drift for parameters relevant to selected astrophysical and experimental regimes. One goal of this project is to emphasize the utility of the charging-model sensitivity of gyrophase drift phenomenon, specifically in a future magnetized-orbit dusty plasma experiment being constructed at Auburn University, to experimentally validate charging-model details for space plasma physics and industrial applications.