Sputtering of sodium on the planet Mercury

Details Sputtering of sodium on the planet Mercury Sputtering of sodium on the planet Mercury

Oct 1986

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986natur.323..694m&link_type=abstract

Nature (ISSN 0028-0836), vol. 323, Oct. 23, 1986, p. 694-696. Research supported by AT&T Bell Laboratories and the University of

Computer Science

81

Mercury Atmosphere, Sodium, Sputtering, Atmospheric Composition, Desorption

Scientific paper

The discovery of a column density of neutral sodium vapour (≡1011- 1012 atoms Na cm-2) associated with the solar-facing side of the planet Mercury has rekindled interest in the possible presence of atmospheric gases on that planet. Whereas the H and He can be explained primarily by capture from the solar wind the authors show that this is not so for Na by evaluating the depletion rates. It is also shown that ion sputtering cannot account for the observed column density but is an important loss mechanism for Na. Photons are likely to be the dominant stimulus, both directly through photodesorption and indirectly through thermal desorption of absorbed Na. The authors therefore conclude that the atmosphere produced is characterized by the planet's surface temperature.

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