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Lunar Photoemission Yields Inferred From ARTEMIS Measurements
Author(s) -
Xu Shaosui,
Poppe Andrew R.,
Harada Yuki,
Halekas Jasper S.,
Chamberlin Phillip C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: planets
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9100
pISSN - 2169-9097
DOI - 10.1029/2020je006790
Subject(s) - photoelectric effect , physics , auger , photon , electron , solar wind , spacecraft charging , computational physics , solar flare , spacecraft , atomic physics , astronomy , optics , plasma , nuclear physics
Photoemission yield (the number of emitted electrons per incoming photon) is one of the fundamental properties of solid materials but is not yet well constrained for the lunar surface for photon energies >∼20 eV. In this study, we constrain this yield for incident photons with energies of ∼10–500 eV with data from the Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) mission along with solar irradiance spectra from Version 2 of the Flare Irradiance Spectral Model. We also report the first oxygen Auger electron observations at the Moon by the ARTEMIS spacecraft, which provides a unique feature to identify photoelectrons emitted from the lunar surface. With lunar photoelectron observations identified in both Earth's magnetotail lobes and the solar wind for four selected days, we infer a lower bound of 10 −3 in yield for photon energies >∼20 eV. However, our investigation also reveals an uncertainty over ∼4 orders of magnitude in derived yields with a sensitivity study, owing to a poorly constrained photoelectron energy probability function. This uncertainty motivates future experiments on lunar samples to better characterize the lunar surface charging environment.