Simulating Solar-Wind-Ion Sputtering of Sodium from Mercury: The Importance of the Surface Binding Energy (Published)
A fundamental physical parameter for binary collision approximation (BCA) sputtering models is the surface binding energy (SBE) of atoms in the substrate. Despite the clear importance of the SBE in simulating sputtering, its actual value is not well understood for many substrates. Specific to Na, there is a large range of reported values that have been used for Solar Wind (SW) sputtering simulations from the surfaces of airless planetary bodies. Given that BCA methods rely on a user defined SBE, this can be a significant source of error for sputtering predictions from complex substrates. To address this issue, we have performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to better constrain the SBE of Na from silicates. Where I worked on simulating and comparing yields in respect to varying oxygen SBE’s using the program SDTrimSP. I then consider the effect that these modified inputs have on predicted yield and energy distributions of sputtered Na due to Solar Wind ions. This study served to establish a more consistent methodology for simulations of SW-induced ion sputtering on bodies such as Mercury and the Moon, allowing for more accurate comparisons between studies.
Advisor: Dr. Liam Morrissey
