Self-consistent modelling of Mercury’s exosphere by sputtering, micro-meteorite impact and photon-stimulated desorption

Abstract

A Monte-Carlo model of exospheres ( Wurz and Lammer, 2003) was extended by treating the ion-induced sputtering process, photon-stimulated desorption, and micro-meteorite impact vaporisation quantitatively in a self-consistent way starting with the actual release of particles from the mineral surface of Mercury. Based on available literature data we established a global model for the surface mineralogy of Mercury and from that derived the average elemental composition of the surface. This model serves as a tool to estimate densities of species in the exosphere depending on the release mechanism and the associated physical parameters quantitatively describing the particle release from the surface. Our calculation shows that the total contribution to the exospheric density at the Hermean surface by solar wind sputtering is about 4×10 7 m –3, which is much less than the experimental upper limit of the exospheric density of 10 12 m –3. The total calculated exospheric density from micro-meteorite impact vaporisation is about 1.6×10 8 m –3, also much less than the observed value. We conclude that solar wind sputtering and micro-meteorite impact vaporisation contribute only a small fraction of Mercury’s exosphere, at least close to the surface. Because of the considerably larger scale height of atoms released via sputtering into the exosphere, sputtered atoms start to dominate the exosphere at altitudes exceeding around 1000 km, with the exception of some light and abundant species released thermally, e.g. H 2 and He. Because of Mercury’s strong gravitational field not all particles released by sputtering and micro-meteorite impact escape. Over extended time scales this will lead to an alteration of the surface composition.