Sentence:  Further , the corpuscular radiation , i.e. , the solar wind protons , must sputter away the surface atoms of the dust and <WSD>cause</WSD> a slow diminution in size , with a resultant increase in both the Poynting-Robertson effect and the ratio of the repulsive force to the gravitational force . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally