An Estimate of the Importance of Electron-stimulated Desorption of Sodium at Mercury
We revisit the importance of electron-stimulated Desorption (ESD) as a source of neutral sodium (Na) atoms and Na ^+ ions in Mercury’s exosphere and ionosphere. For the first time we have calibrated the ESD yield per electron as a function of electron energy in the energy range 100–950 eV. This cali...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/addf37 |
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| Summary: | We revisit the importance of electron-stimulated Desorption (ESD) as a source of neutral sodium (Na) atoms and Na ^+ ions in Mercury’s exosphere and ionosphere. For the first time we have calibrated the ESD yield per electron as a function of electron energy in the energy range 100–950 eV. This calibrated yield per electron was convolved with the electron flux as a function of energy onto Mercury’s cusps to determine the average release rate of Na ^+ to the exosphere, using electron flux and cusp area estimates from a recent hybrid magnetosphere model. Given that previous work showed the ESD yields per electron of Na ^+ ions and neutral Na atoms are approximately equal, we compared the energy-weighted ESD release of Na ^+ to that deriving from micrometeoroid impact vaporization, photon-stimulated desorption, and ion sputtering. We conclude that ESD is not a significant source of neutral Na atoms or Na ^+ ions to Mercury’s exosphere. |
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| ISSN: | 2632-3338 |