Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Solar Wind Implantation in the Permanently Shadowed Regions on the Lunar surface

ZY Huang and K Nomura and LS Morrissey and J Wang, GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 49, e2022GL099333 (2022).

DOI: 10.1029/2022GL099333

Reactive molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate solar wind implantation on lunar surface. This study resolves both the chemical reactions and physical interactions of implantation, analyzes the effects from hydroxyl saturation, solar wind reflection, and water molecule sputtering, and quantifies the contribution of solar wind proton implantation on lunar water formation. The results show that, while solar wind implantation can lead to the formation of some hydroxyl groups and water molecules, the contribution by the implantation process itself is not significant enough to account for the observed lunar water content. Plain Language Summary We present, to our knowledge, the first atomic-scale numerical simulation study of the solar wind implantation process. This study resolves both the chemical reactions and the physical interactions of implantation, and quantifies the contribution of solar wind implantation to lunar water formation.

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