Dust charging and transport on airless planetary bodies

Abstract

We report on laboratory experiments to shed light on dust charging and transport that have been suggested to explain a variety of unusual phenomena on the surfaces of airless planetary bodies. We have recorded micron-sized insulating dust particles jumping to several centimeters high with an initial speed of ~0.6 m/s under ultraviolet illumination or exposure to plasmas, resulting in an equivalent height of ~0.11 m on the lunar surface that is comparable to the height of the so-called lunar horizon glow. Lofted large aggregates and surface mobilization are related to many space observations. We experimentally show that the emission and re-absorption of photoelectron and/or secondary electron at the walls of microcavities formed between neighboring dust particles below the surface are responsible for generating unexpectedly large negative charges and intense particle-particle repulsive forces to mobilize and lift off dust particles.