On solar radiation-driven surface transport of sodium atoms at Mercury

Details On solar radiation-driven surface transport of sodium atoms at Mercury On solar radiation-driven surface transport of sodium atoms at Mercury

Jun 1990

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1990apj...356..675i&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 356, June 20, 1990, p. 675-681.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

30

Abundance, Ballistic Trajectories, Mercury Surface, Radiation Pressure, Sodium, Solar Radiation, Digital Simulation, Monte Carlo Method, Photoionization, Mercury (Planet), Solar Radiation, Transport, Surface, Sodium, Model, Exosphere, Pressure, Acceleration, Monte Carlo Method, Brightness, Emission, Production Rate, Simulations, Numerical Methods, Calculations, Diagrams, Parameters, Abundance, Distribution, Imagery, Density, Magnetic Effects, Pickup, Photoionization, Hypotheses

Scientific paper

The ballistic motion of the exospheric sodium atoms on the surface Mercury is modeled, taking into account the solar radiation pressure acceleration and partial surface thermal accommodation. The Monte Carlo simulations show that there should be a significant degree of limb brightening as well as brightness enhancement over the poles. To maintain the observed sodium optical emission, a surface production rate on the order of 5-9 x 10 to the 24th atoms/s is needed. It is also found that, under the present set of assumptions, a reasonable agreement can be reached between theoretical results and ground-based measurements for the dependence of the disk-averaged abundance of the sodium atoms on the solar radiation pressure acceleration. If the low-altitude portion of the planetary surface is shielded from the magnetospheric convective electric field, the effective loss rate of the sodium atoms via photoionization and magnetospheric pickup may be reduced to about 2 x 10 to the 24th atoms/s, with the polar regions acting as the main area of ion outflows.

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