Related papers: Micro-scale Electrostatic Structures formed on the…

Neglecting the effects associated with the solar wind plasma, the photoelectrons are the only elementary particles which create an electrical current through sunlit surface of the moon. They are knocked off of the surface soil, rise above…

The formation of electric potential over lunar magnetized regions is essential for understanding fundamental lunar science, for understanding the lunar environment, and for planning human exploration on the Moon. A large positive electric…

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…

The most likely cause of levitation of dust above the surface of atmosphereless planets is the electrostatic mechanism. However, the crucial problem in the explanation of this effect is a determination of the reason why a large electric…

The observed presence of water molecules in the dayside lunar regolith was an unexpected discovery and remains poorly understood. Standard thermophysical models predict temperatures that are too high for adsorbed water to be stable. We…

Multiple nations are planning activity on the Moon's surface, and to deconflict lunar operations we must understand the sandblasting damage from rocket exhaust blowing soil. Prior research disagreed over the scaling of the erosion rate,…

Lunar dust -- the sub-millimeter fraction of the regolith -- controls the optical, thermophysical, electrical, mechanical, and environmental behavior of the Moon's surface. These properties set the performance envelopes of remote-sensing…

Above lunar crustal magnetic anomalies, large fractions of solar wind electrons and ions can be scattered and stream back towards the solar wind flow, leading to a number of interesting effects such as electrostatic instabilities and waves.…

To reveal the effect of secondary electron emission on the charging properties of a surface covered by micron-sized insulating dust particles and the migration characteristics of these particles, for the first time, we used a laser Doppler…

In this paper we present in-situ satellite data, theory and laboratory validation that show how small scale collisionless shocks and mini-magnetospheres can form on the electron inertial scale length. The resulting retardation and…

In the study of colloidal, biological and electrochemical systems, it is customary to treat surfaces, macromolecules and electrodes as homogeneously charged. This simplified approach is proven successful in most cases, but fails to describe…

The study of meter and sub-meter scale geological features, especially boulders and boulder fields, on the surface of airless bodies can provide insight into the evolution of the regolith and the contribution of various processes to its…

When the solar wind encounters the Moon, a plasma void forms downstream of it, known as the lunar wake. In regions where the magnetic field is quasi-parallel to the plasma-vacuum boundary normal, plasma refills the wake primarily along…

The discrete and charge-separated nature of matter - electrons and nuclei - results in local electrostatic fields that are ubiquitous in nanoscale structures and are determined by their shape, material, and environment. Such fields are…

A new model has been developed to estimate the dielectric constant of the lunar surface using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data. Continuous investigation on the dielectric constant of the lunar surface is a high priority task due to…

In this paper we study the electrostatic interaction of a heterogeneously charged wall with a neutral semipermeable membrane. The wall consists of periodic stripes, where the charge density varies in one direction. The membrane is in a…

We analyze, by means of an RPA calculation, the conditions under which a mixture of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes can micro-segregate in the neighborhood of a charged surface creating a layered structure. A number of stable layers can…

Context. Airless planetary bodies are directly exposed to solar wind ions, which can scatter or become implanted upon impact with the regolith-covered surface, while also sputtering surface atoms. Aims. We construct a semi-analytical model…

Understanding the electrodes' surface morphology influence on the ions' distribution is essential for designing the supercapacitors with enhanced energy density characteristics. We develop a model for the structure of electrolytes near the…

Surfaces of planetary bodies can have strong electric fields, subjecting conductive grains to repulsive electrostatic forces. This has been proposed as mechanism to eject grains from the ground. To quantify this process, we study mm-sized…