Nonlinear Dust Acoustic Waves in Exosphere of Mercury

Abstract

The exosphere of Mercury, which has much in common with the exosphere of the Moon, can also contain suspended dust particles, which, under the action of intense solar radiation, acquire positive charges and form one of the components of the dusty plasma system. In addition to dust particles, there are photoelectrons above the planet surface, formed as a result of interaction of solar radiation with the planet surface, as well as with suspended dust particles. Mercury, unlike the Moon, has its own magnetosphere, which affects the parameters of dusty plasma system. The dusty plasma parameters near the Mercury surface can vary depending on the distance from the planet to the Sun, which considerably changes when the planet moves along the elongated orbit, and also depending on the localization of the region under consideration on the planet surface. Thus, near the magnetic poles, the solar wind can reach the planet surface, which must be taken into account when determining the plasma parameters. Far from the magnetic poles, the effect of the solar wind can be neglected. In the dusty plasma near the surface of Mercury, one can expect the development of linear and nonlinear wave processes. In this paper, nonlinear waves are considered, namely, dust acoustic solitons and nonlinear periodic waves. The profiles of potentials of high-amplitude solitons and nonlinear periodic waves are obtained, as well as the soliton amplitudes as functions of the altitude above the planet surface and soliton velocity.