Role of the surface charging in the solar wind interaction with a small, non-magnetized, electrically non-conducting body studied in a two-dimensional electromagnetic full particle simulation

Abstract

The solar wind interaction with a small, non-magnetized, electrically non-conducting body is studied using a two-dimensional electromagnetic full particle simulation. The solar wind magnetic field is introduced into the simulation scheme as an initial condition together with the electric field generated by the motion of the solar wind. The solar wind magnetic field controls the direction of flow of thermal electrons, causing an asymmetry of the negative charging of the downstream side surface. In the absence of the photoelectrons, the solar wind electrons are expelled by the negative charging at the terminator, and behave differently from traditional theory.