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Molecular Hydrogen bubbles formation on thin vacuum deposited Aluminum layers after proton irradiation

Metals are the most common materials used in space technology. Metal structures, while used in space, are subjected to the full spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation together with particle irradiation. Hence, they undergo degradation. Future space missions are planned to proceed in the interplanetary space, where the protons of the solar wind play a very destructive role on metallic surfaces. Unfortunately, their real degradation behavior is to a great extent unknown. Our aim is to predict materials' behavior in such a destructive environment. Therefore both, theoretical and experimental studies are performed at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bremen, Germany. Here, we report the theoretical results of those studies. We examine the process of H2-bubble formation on metallic surfaces. H2-bubbles are metal caps filled with Hydrogen molecular gas resulting from recombination processes of the metal free electrons and the solar protons. A thermodynamic model of the bubble growth is presented. Our model predicts e.g. the velocity of that growth and the reflectivity of foils populated by bubbles. Formation of bubbles irreversibly changes the surface quality of irradiated metals. Thin metallic films are especially sensitive for such degradation processes. They are used e.g. in the solar sail propulsion technology. The efficiency of that technology depends on the thermo-optical properties of the sail materials. Therefore, bubble formation processes have to be taken into account for the planning of long-term solar sail missions.