Abstract
Surface charging phenomena on the lunar surface are significantly
influenced by topographical features such as craters, boulders, and
cavities. This study employs Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations to
explore how the size of surface cavities affects charging under typical
solar wind conditions. Our results show that cavities smaller than the
lunar sheath thickness develop strong positive potentials at the depths
due to ion currents. However, as cavity size increases beyond the sheath
thickness, the influence of ion currents is reduced, resulting in a more
moderate potential change inside the cavities. This transition is driven
by a shift from surface-charge-dominated
($\sim\!size^2$) to
space-charge-dominated ($\sim size^3$) electrostatic
structures, as larger cavities allow for greater electron inflow and
contribution of the space charge. These findings suggest that both
macroscopic and microscopic surface irregularities need to be evaluated
according to their spatial scale when considering a global charging
environment, which would be significant for understanding dust transport
and potential breakdown processes.