{"title":"Three-dimensional simulation of surface charging in meteorite craters on rotating asteroids","authors":"Zhiying Song, Zhigui Liu, Ronghui Quan","doi":"10.1016/j.pss.2025.106089","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>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, the surface charging properties of asteroids with nontrivial terrain are simulated on the basis of the neural network and the finite element method. Key factors such as the location, size and depth-to-width ratio of craters are all considered. Under normal conditions, as the latitude of the crater increases, the potential variation at its floor during a rotation gradually becomes smoother, finally stabilizing around −27.5 V with minor fluctuations when the crater approaches the poles. Because of the diverging motions of electrons and the less deflected trajectories of ions, near the terminator, the surface potential variation within craters with low depth-to-width ratios primarily depends on ion density, which decreases with increasing depth. In contrast, for craters with a depth-to-width ratio greater than 0.5, the potential differences at the crater floor arise mainly from the electron distribution. While the surface potential appears indifferent to changes in crater size, only during solar storms, the floor of large-scale craters, such as those with a diameter of 800 m, perform a 26.78 V decrease in potential compared to small craters of 50 m. Both studies of localized plasma flow field and the surface charging phenomenon of asteroids have substantial influence on the future safe landing and exploration missions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20054,"journal":{"name":"Planetary and Space Science","volume":"260 ","pages":"Article 106089"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Planetary and Space Science","FirstCategoryId":"101","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003206332500056X","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
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, the surface charging properties of asteroids with nontrivial terrain are simulated on the basis of the neural network and the finite element method. Key factors such as the location, size and depth-to-width ratio of craters are all considered. Under normal conditions, as the latitude of the crater increases, the potential variation at its floor during a rotation gradually becomes smoother, finally stabilizing around −27.5 V with minor fluctuations when the crater approaches the poles. Because of the diverging motions of electrons and the less deflected trajectories of ions, near the terminator, the surface potential variation within craters with low depth-to-width ratios primarily depends on ion density, which decreases with increasing depth. In contrast, for craters with a depth-to-width ratio greater than 0.5, the potential differences at the crater floor arise mainly from the electron distribution. While the surface potential appears indifferent to changes in crater size, only during solar storms, the floor of large-scale craters, such as those with a diameter of 800 m, perform a 26.78 V decrease in potential compared to small craters of 50 m. Both studies of localized plasma flow field and the surface charging phenomenon of asteroids have substantial influence on the future safe landing and exploration missions.
期刊介绍:
Planetary and Space Science publishes original articles as well as short communications (letters). Ground-based and space-borne instrumentation and laboratory simulation of solar system processes are included. The following fields of planetary and solar system research are covered:
• Celestial mechanics, including dynamical evolution of the solar system, gravitational captures and resonances, relativistic effects, tracking and dynamics
• Cosmochemistry and origin, including all aspects of the formation and initial physical and chemical evolution of the solar system
• Terrestrial planets and satellites, including the physics of the interiors, geology and morphology of the surfaces, tectonics, mineralogy and dating
• Outer planets and satellites, including formation and evolution, remote sensing at all wavelengths and in situ measurements
• Planetary atmospheres, including formation and evolution, circulation and meteorology, boundary layers, remote sensing and laboratory simulation
• Planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres, including origin of magnetic fields, magnetospheric plasma and radiation belts, and their interaction with the sun, the solar wind and satellites
• Small bodies, dust and rings, including asteroids, comets and zodiacal light and their interaction with the solar radiation and the solar wind
• Exobiology, including origin of life, detection of planetary ecosystems and pre-biological phenomena in the solar system and laboratory simulations
• Extrasolar systems, including the detection and/or the detectability of exoplanets and planetary systems, their formation and evolution, the physical and chemical properties of the exoplanets
• History of planetary and space research