Dayside H circulation at Mercury and neutral particle emission     

A. Mura  S. Orsini  D. Delcourt  E. De Angelis 《Icarus》2005,175(2):305-319

In this study we discuss the proton circulation and the neutral atom emission at Mercury. The H⁺ distribution in space, energy and pitch angle has been simulated by means of a single-particle Monte Carlo model. The applied electric and magnetic field model has been parameterized to take into account different boundary conditions such as interplanetary magnetic field and cross-tail potential drop. Particular attention has been paid to the estimation of the surface-sputtered neutral atoms and the energetic neutral atoms generated via charge-exchange process. The peculiar configuration of the hermean magnetosphere, as it is expected after the Mariner-10 observation of a weak magnetic field, allows a significant part of the incoming solar wind to enter Mercury's environment. For the Bz<−10 nT conditions, intense ion fluxes are expected in the cusp regions, which are extremely large when compared to the Earth's ones. The solar wind particles are likely to rapidly leave the hermean magnetosphere or precipitate onto the planetary surface, thus originating neutral particle emission via ion-sputtering. Two instruments, proposed to fly on board ESA mission BepiColombo (namely: the NPA-IS SERENA suite on the MPO segment and the ENA instrument on the MMO segment) will monitor the neutral signal as well as the precipitating ion particles. The modeled distribution presented here may be considered as a reference tool for the future observations.  相似文献   

Jovian plasma sheet morphology: particle and field observations by the Galileo spacecraft     

L.S. Waldrop  T.A. Fritz  K. Khurana  A. Lagg 《Planetary and Space Science》2005,53(6):681-692

We present results from an investigation of the plasma sheet encounter signatures observed in the Jovian magnetosphere by the Energetic Particles Detector (EPD) and Magnetometer (MAG) onboard the Galileo spacecraft. Maxima in ion flux were used to identify over 500 spacecraft encounters with the plasma sheet between radial distances from Jupiter from 20 to 140R_J during the first 25 orbits (4 years of data). Typical signatures of plasma sheet encounters show a characteristic periodicity of either 5 or 10 hours that is attributed to an oscillation in the relative distance between the spacecraft and the plasma sheet that arises from the combination of planetary rotation and offset magnetic and rotational axes. However, the energetic particle and field data also display much variability, including instances of intense fluxes having little to no periodicity that persist for several Jovian rotation periods. Abrupt changes in the mean distance between the plasma sheet and the spacecraft are suggested to account for some of the transitions between typical flux periodicities associated with plasma sheet encounters. Additional changes in the plasma sheet thickness and/or amplitude of the plasma sheet displacement from the location of the spacecraft are required to explain the cases where the periodicity breaks down but fluxes remain high. These changes in plasma sheet characteristics do not display an obvious periodicity; however, the observations suggest that dawn/dusk asymmetries in both the structure of the plasma sheet and the frequency of anomalous plasma sheet encounters are present. Evidence of a thin, well-ordered plasma sheet is found out to 110R_J in the dawn and midnight local time sectors, while the dusk magnetosphere is characterized by a thicker, more disordered plasma sheet and has a potentially more pronounced response to an impulsive trigger. Temporal variations associated with changing solar wind conditions are suggested to account for the anomalous plasma sheet encounters there.  相似文献   

The example of effective plasma acceleration in a magnetosphere     

V. S. Beskin  E. E. Nokhrina 《Astrophysics and Space Science》2007,308(1-4):335-343

The problem of effective transform of Poynting flux energy into the kinetic energy of relativistic plasma outflow in a magnetosphere is considered. In this article we present an example of such acceleration. In order to perform it, we use the approach of ideal axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). For highly magnetized plasma outflow we show that a linear growth of Lorentz factor with a cylindrical distance from the rotational axis is a general result for any field configuration in the sub-magnetosonic flow. In the far region the full magnetohydrodynamics problem for one-dimensional flow is considered. It turns out that the effective plasma outflow acceleration is possible in the paraboloidal magnetic field. It is shown that such an acceleration is due to the drift of charged particles in the crossed electric and magnetic field. The clear explanation of the absence of acceleration in the monopole magnetic field if given.   相似文献   

Advances in numerical modeling of astrophysical and space plasmas     

Anthony L. Peratt 《Astrophysics and Space Science》1996,242(1-2):93-163

Plasma science is rich in distinguishable scales ranging from the atomic to the galactic to the meta-galactic, i.e., themesoscale. Thus plasma science has an important contribution to make in understanding the connection between microscopic and macroscopic phenomena. Plasma is a system composed of a large number of particles which interact primarily, but not exclusively, through the electromagnetic field. The problem of understanding the linkages and couplings in multi-scale processes is a frontier problem of modern science involving fields as diverse as plasma phenomena in the laboratory to galactic dynamics.Unlike the first three states of matter, plasma, often called the fourth state of matter, involves the mesoscale and its interdisciplinary founding have drawn upon various subfields of physics including engineering, astronomy, and chemistry. Basic plasma research is now posed to provide, with major developments in instrumentation and large-scale computational resources, fundamental insights into the properties of matter on scales ranging from the atomic to the galactic. In all cases, these are treated as mesoscale systems. Thus, basic plasma research, when applied to the study of astrophysical and space plasmas, recognizes that the behavior of the near-earth plasma environment may depend to some extent on the behavior of the stellar plasma, that may in turn be governed by galactic plasmas. However, unlike laboratory plasmas, astrophysical plasmas will forever be inaccessible to in situ observation. The inability to test concepts and theories of large-scale plasmas leaves only virtual testing as a means to understand the universe. Advances in in computer technology and the capability of performing physics first principles, fully three-dimensional, particle-in-cell simulations, are making virtual testing a viable alternative to verify our predictions about the far universe.The first part of this paper explores the dynamical and fluid properties of the plasma state, plasma kinetics, and the radiation emitted from plasmas. The second part of this paper outlines the formulation for the particle-in-cell simulation of astrophysical plasmas and advances in simulational techniques and algorithms, as-well-as the advances that may be expected as the computational resource grows to petaflop speed/memory capabilities.Dedicated to the memories of Hannes Alfvén and Oscar Buneman; Founders of the Subject.  相似文献   

等离子体湍动对准垂直激波中粒子加速的影响          下载免费PDF全文

郝宇飞  陆全明  高新亮  单立灿  王水 《地球物理学报》2013,56(7):2171-2176

本文利用试验粒子方法研究了在考虑等离子体湍动的情况下带电粒子在准垂直激波中的加速, 在计算中, 我们采用组合模型来拟合等离子体湍动. 计算结果表明, 在存在等离子体湍动的情况下, 粒子可横越背景磁场运动, 从而被激波反射的上游粒子在到达下游后可被等离子体湍动散射回到上游, 并再次被激波反射并加速, 这样的过程可重复很多次, 因而粒子可被加速到很高的能量. 我们还研究了激波角, 粒子的初始能量和等离子体湍动的强度, 以及相干长度和两种湍动组分强度比与加速粒子的能谱之间的关系.  相似文献   

利用GRACE卫星精密微波测距确定星间平均电子密度          下载免费PDF全文

熊超  马淑英  尹凡 《地球物理学报》2014,57(5):1366-1376

本文介绍如何利用GRACE两颗卫星之间K波段双频微波精密测距和轨道数据,得到星间平均电子密度.发展了一种将连续轨道电子密度极小对齐到零的方法,以消除整周模糊度;借助CHAMP卫星朗缪探针测量得到的轨道电子密度基值以及GPS掩星数据计算的等离子体垂直梯度标高,进一步修正了GRACE星间电子密度所固有的偏差;从而得到大约500 km高度上长达近十年的全球电子密度数据.为了检验消除偏差后GRACE星间电子密度数据的可靠性,对比了GRACE卫星过Millstone Hill雷达上空时,非相干散射雷达观测到的大致同时和相近位置的电子密度数据,结果显示,二者之间的线性相关系数为0.97,平均偏差为-7.26%,GRACE星间电子密度总体稍微偏低,偏差的标准差为18.6%.为进一步验证本文方法所得数据的可用价值,利用消除偏差后的电子密度数据,对GRACE卫星与CHAMP卫星在近乎相同的地方时而高度不同的近圆极轨道上飞行的情况下,两颗卫星观测到的电子密度随经度和纬度的全球分布进行了对比分析.多方面的对比检验证明,本文方法得到的几乎连续10年的GRACE高度上全球电子密度数据基本可靠,为电离层气候学与天气学研究提供了宝贵资料.  相似文献   

Impact of the plasma fluctuations in the Martian ionosphere on the performance of the synthetic aperture ground-penetrating radar     

Ya.A. Ilyushin 《Planetary and Space Science》2009,57(12):1458-1466

The effect of the ionospheric scintillations on the performance of the dekameter wave band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is considered. The numerical model for computer simulations, based on the multiple phase screen technique and accounting for diffraction, is formulated. The result of numerical simulations of the radar pulses is presented and analyzed. The role of the various features of the ionospheric disturbances and their influence on the radar pulse characteristic parameters is figured out and discussed. Both effects of anisotropy of the correlation function of plasma irregularities and their temporal variations are studied numerically.  相似文献   

Titan's highly dynamic magnetic environment: A systematic survey of Cassini magnetometer observations from flybys TA-T62     

Sven Simon  Alexandre Wennmacher  Cesar L. Bertucci  Hendrik Kriegel  Christopher T. Russell 《Planetary and Space Science》2010,58(10):1230-1251

We analyze the variability of the ambient magnetic field near Titan during Cassini encounters TA-T62 (October 2004-October 2009). Cassini magnetometer (MAG) data show that the moon's magnetic environment is strongly affected by its proximity to Saturn's warped and highly dynamic magnetodisk. In the nightside sector of Saturn's magnetosphere, the magnetic field near Titan is controlled by intense vertical flapping motions of the magnetodisk current sheet, alternately exposing the moon to radially stretched lobe-type fields and to more dipolar, but highly distorted current sheet fields. In southern summer, when most of the Cassini encounters took place, the magnetodisk current sheet was on average located above Titan's orbital plane. However, around equinox in August 2009, the distortions of Titan's magnetic environment due to the rapidly moving current sheet reached a maximum, thus suggesting that the equilibrium position of the sheet at that time was significantly closer to the moon's orbital plane. In the dayside magnetosphere, the formation of the magnetodisk lobes is partially suppressed due to the proximity of the magnetopause. Therefore, during most encounters that took place near noon, Titan was embedded in highly distorted current sheet fields. Within the framework of this study, we not only provide a systematic classification of all Titan flybys between October 2004 and October 2009 as lobe-type or current sheet scenarios, but we also calculate the magnetospheric background field near Titan's orbit whenever possible. Our results show that so far, there is not a single Cassini flyby that matches the frequently applied picture of Titan's plasma interaction from the pre-Cassini era (background field homogeneous, stationary and perpendicular to the moon's orbital plane). The time scales upon which the ambient magnetospheric field close to Titan undergoes significant changes range between only a few minutes and up to several hours. The implications for the development of numerical models for Titan's local plasma interaction are discussed as well.  相似文献   

Spectroscopic diagnostics in the VUV for solar and stellar plasmas     

H. E. Mason  B. C. Monsignori Fossi 《Astronomy and Astrophysics Review》1994,6(1-2):123-179

Summary The VUV emission spectra from the solar atmosphere and stellar atmospheres have been intensively studied during the past 25 years with several major space programs. In this review we discuss the spectroscopic diagnostic techniques used to study astrophysical plasmas, the atomic processes involved, the recent observations and the plans for future space missions.  相似文献   

Introduction to plasma astrophysics and cosmology     

Anthony L. Peratt 《Astrophysics and Space Science》1995,227(1-2):3-11

The year 1996 marks the Centennial Celebration of the founding of Plasma Astrophysics and Cosmology; its origins may be traced to the seminal research first published by Kristian Birkeland in 1896. This special workshop issue reports on advances in issues of importance to the plasma universe; topics as timely as when first raised a century ago.  相似文献