Related papers: Spacecraft charging and ion wake formation in the …

Wakes behind spacecraft caused by supersonic drifting positive ions are common in plasmas and disturb in situ measurements. We review the impact of wakes on observations by the Electric Field and Wave double-probe instruments on the Cluster…

This paper presents an overview of the roles played by incoming and outgoing electrons in spacecraft surface and stresses the importance of surface conditions for spacecraft charging. The balance between the incoming electron current from…

The solar wind flow creates a wake behind any spacecraft immersed in it. We study the properties of this wake using the spherical electrostatic probes of the Electric Fields and Waves (EFW) instruments on the Cluster satellites. The…

The interaction of a space system with its orbital environment is a major consideration in the design of any space system, since a variety of hazards are associated with the operation of spacecraft in the harsh space environment. In this…

When a fast dust particle hits a spacecraft, it generates a cloud of plasma some of which escapes into space and the momentary charge imbalance perturbs the spacecraft voltage with respect to the plasma. Electrons race ahead of ions,…

Spacecraft potential has often been used to infer electron density with much higher time resolution than is typically possible with plasma instruments. However, recently two studies by Torkar et al. 2017 and Graham et al. 2018 have shown…

The results of an analysis of the physics of levitation of negatively charged dust particles over a surface (wall) in an inverse sheath are reported. It is shown that under suitable parameter regime, the ion-drag force may balance the…

Space charge effects can significantly degrade charge collection in organic photovoltaics (OPVs), especially in thick-film devices. The two main causes of space charge are doping and imbalanced transport. Although these are completely…

The charged dust on the surface of airless celestial bodies, such as the moon and asteroids, is a threat to space missions. Further research on the charged dust will contribute to the success of space missions. In this paper, we study the…

Plane wave density functional theory codes generally assume periodicity in all three dimensions. This causes difficulties when studying charged systems, for instance energies per unit cell become infinite, and, even after being renormalised…

Meteorite craters on the asteroid surface obstruct the horizontal flow of solar wind, forming a plasma wake that modulates the particle fluxes and the electrostatic environment far downstream. In this study, surface charging properties of…

Context. The electrostatic potential of a spacecraft, VS, is important for the capabilities of in situ plasma measurements. Rosetta has been found to be negatively charged during most of the comet mission and even more so in denser plasmas.…

A new electrostatic ramjet space engine is proposed and analyzed. The upper atmosphere (85 -1000 km) is extremely dense in ions (millions per cubic cm). The interplanetary medium contains positive protons from the solar wind. A charged ball…

Negative ions have been detected in abundance in recent years by spacecraft across the solar system. These detections were, however, made by instruments not designed for this purpose and, as such, significant uncertainties remain regarding…

A dual component made of non-relativistic particles and a scalar field, exchanging energy, naturally falls onto an attractor solution, making them a (sub)dominant part of the cosmic energy during the radiation dominated era, provided that…

We consider the translocation of a neutral (uncharged) nanoparticle through a pore in a thin membrane with constant surface charge density. If the concomitant Debye screening layer is sufficiently thin, the resulting forces experienced by…

The PlasmaKristall-4 experiment on the International Space Station allows for the study of the 3-dimensional interaction between plasma and dust particles. Previous simulations of the PK-4 environment have discovered fast moving ionization…

A surprising and unexpected phenomenon observed during Cassini's Grand Finale was the spacecraft charging to positive potentials in Saturn's ionosphere. Here, the ionospheric plasma was depleted of free electrons with negatively charged…

It is widely accepted that the surface potential of the lunar dayside is "on average" several to 10 V positive due to photoelectron emission in addition to the solar wind plasma precipitation. Recent studies, however, have shown that an…

Electrostatic charge dissipation is one of the major concerns for satellites operating in the Earth's orbits. Under energetic plasma conditions, they may acquire very high negative potential (up to 10's of kV) due to the collection of…