| 1. |
- Gunell, H., et al.
(författare)
-
Ion acoustic waves at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko : Observations and computations
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP SCIENCES S A. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 600
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. On 20 January 2015 the Rosetta spacecraft was at a heliocentric distance of 2.5 AU, accompanying comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on its journey toward the Sun. The Ion Composition Analyser (RPC-ICA), other instruments of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium, and the ROSINA instrument made observations relevant to the generation of plasma waves in the cometary environment.Aims. Observations of plasma waves by the Rosetta Plasma Consortium Langmuir probe (RPC-LAP) can be explained by dispersion relations calculated based on measurements of ions by the Rosetta Plasma Consortium Ion Composition Analyser (RPC-ICA), and this gives insight into the relationship between plasma phenomena and the neutral coma, which is observed by the Comet Pressure Sensor of the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis instrument (ROSINA-COPS).Methods. We use the simple pole expansion technique to compute dispersion relations for waves on ion timescales based on the observed ion distribution functions. These dispersion relations are then compared to the waves that are observed. Data from the instruments RPC-LAP, RPC-ICA and the mutual impedance probe (RPC-MIP) are compared to find the best estimate of the plasma density.Results. We find that ion acoustic waves are present in the plasma at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where the major ion species is H2O+. The bulk of the ion distribution is cold, k(B)T(i) = 0.01 eV when the ion acoustic waves are observed. At times when the neutral density is high, ions are heated through acceleration by the solar wind electric field and scattered in collisions with the neutrals. This process heats the ions to about 1 eV, which leads to significant damping of the ion acoustic waves.Conclusions. In conclusion, we show that ion acoustic waves appear in the H2O+ plasmas at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and how the interaction between the neutral and ion populations affects the wave properties.
|
|
| 2. |
- Gunell, Herbert, et al.
(författare)
-
Plasma waves confined to the diamagnetic cavity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 469, s. S84-S92
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ion acoustic waves were observed in the diamagnetic cavity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta spacecraft on 2015 August 3, when the comet was 1.25 au from the Sun. Wave spectra recorded by the Langmuir probe (RPC-LAP), peak near 200 Hz, decrease for higher frequencies and reach the noise floor at approximately 1.5 kHz. These waves were observed only when the spacecraft was in the diamagnetic cavity or at its boundary, which is identified as a sharp drop in magnetic field magnitude, measured by RPC-MAG. The plasma, on both sides of the boundary, is dominated by a cold (a few hundred K) water group ion population, one cold (k(B)T(e) similar to 0.1 eV) and one warm (k(B)T(e) similar to 10 eV) electron population. The observations are interpreted in terms of current-driven ion acoustic waves, generated by currents that flow through bulges on the boundary of the diamagnetic cavity.
|
|
| 3. |
- Maggiolo, R., et al.
(författare)
-
The Effect of Cosmic Rays on Cometary Nuclei. II. Impact on Ice Composition and Structure
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 901:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since their formation in the protosolar nebula some similar to 4.5 billion years ago, comets are in storage in cold distant regions of the solar system, the Kuiper Belt/scattered disk or Oort Cloud. Therefore, they have been considered as mostly unaltered samples of the protosolar nebula. However, a significant dose of energy is deposited by galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) into the outermost tens of meters of cometary nuclei during their stay in the Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt. We investigate the impact of energy deposition by GCRs on cometary nuclei. We use experimental results from laboratory experiments and the energy deposition by GCRs estimated by Gronoff et al. (2020), to discuss the depth down to which the cometary nucleus is altered by GCRs. We show that GCRs do not significantly change the isotopic composition of cometary material but modify the chemical composition and the ice structure in the outer layers of the nucleus, which cannot be considered as pristine solar nebula material. We discuss the effect of the collisional history of comets on the distribution of processed material inside the nucleus and its implication on the observation of comets.
|
|
| 4. |
- Fuselier, S. A., et al.
(författare)
-
Ion chemistry in the coma of comet 67P near perihelion
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 462, s. S67-S77
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The coma and the comet-solar wind interaction of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko changed dramatically from the initial Rosetta spacecraft encounter in 2014 August through perihelion in 2015 August. Just before equinox (at 1.6 au from the Sun), the solar wind signal disappeared and two regions of different cometary ion characteristics were observed. These 'outer' and 'inner' regions have cometary ion characteristics similar to outside and inside the ion pileup region observed during the Giotto approach to comet 1P/Halley. Rosetta/Double-Focusing Mass Spectrometer ion mass spectrometer observations are used here to investigate the H3O+/H2O+ ratio in the outer and inner regions at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The H3O+/H2O+ ratio and the H3O+ signal are observed to increase in the transition from the outer to the inner region and the H3O+ signal appears to be weakly correlated with cometary ion energy. These ion composition changes are similar to the ones observed during the 1P/Halley flyby. Modelling is used to determine the importance of neutral composition and transport of neutrals and ions away from the nucleus. This modelling demonstrates that changes in the H3O+/H2O+ ratio appear to be driven largely by transport properties and only weakly by neutral composition in the coma.
|
|
| 5. |
- Fuselier, S. A., et al.
(författare)
-
ROSINA/DFMS and IES observations of 67P : Ion-neutral chemistry in the coma of a weakly outgassing comet
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 583
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The Rosetta encounter with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko provides a unique opportunity for an in situ, up-close investigation of ion-neutral chemistry in the coma of a weakly outgassing comet far from the Sun. Aims. Observations of primary and secondary ions and modeling are used to investigate the role of ion-neutral chemistry within the thin coma. Methods. Observations from late October through mid-December 2014 show the continuous presence of the solar wind 30 km from the comet nucleus. These and other observations indicate that there is no contact surface and the solar wind has direct access to the nucleus. On several occasions during this time period, the Rosetta/ROSINA/Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer measured the low-energy ion composition in the coma. Organic volatiles and water group ions and their breakup products (masses 14 through 19), COP, and CO, (masses 28 and 44) and other mass peaks (at masses 26, 27, and possibly 30) were observed. Secondary ions include H3O+ and HCO+ (masses 19 and 29). These secondary ions indicate ion-neutral chemistry in the thin coma of the comet. A relatively simple model is constructed to account for the low H3O /H2O+ and HCO /CO+ ratios observed in a water dominated coma. Results from this simple model are compared with results from models that include a more detailed chemical reaction network. Results. At low outgassing rates, predictions from the simple model agree with observations and with results from more complex models that include much more chemistry. At higher outgassing rates, the ion-neutral chemistry is still limited and high HCO /CO+ ratios are predicted and observed. However, at higher outgassing rates, the model predicts high H3O /H2O+ ratios and the observed ratios are often low. These low ratios may be the result of the highly heterogeneous nature of the coma, where CO and CO2 number densities can exceed that of water.
|
|
| 6. |
- Maggiolo, R., et al.
(författare)
-
Effect of the Surface Roughness of Icy Grains on Molecular Oxygen Chemistry in Molecular Clouds
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 882:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Molecular cloud and protosolar nebula chemistry involves a strong interaction between the gas phase and the surface of icy grains. The exchanges between the gas phase and the solid phase depend not only on the adsorption and desorption rates but also on the geometry of the surface of the grains. Indeed, for sufficient levels of surface roughness, atoms and molecules have a significant probability to collide with the grain icy mantle several times before being potentially captured. In consequence, their net sticking probability may differ from their sticking probability for a single collision with the grain surface. We estimate the effectiveness of the recapture on uneven surfaces for the various desorption processes at play in astrophysical environments. We show that surface roughness has a significant effect on the desorption rates. We focus in particular on the production of O-2 since unexpectedly large amounts of it, probably incorporated in the comet when it formed, have been detected in the coma of comet 67P by the Rosetta probe. Our results suggest that the higher escape probability of hydrogen compared to heavier species on rough surfaces can contribute to enhancing the production of O-2 in the icy mantles of grains while keeping its abundance low in the gas phase and may significantly decrease the desorption probability of molecules involved in the O-2 chemical network.
|
|
| 7. |
- Maggiolo, R., et al.
(författare)
-
The Delayed Time Response of Geomagnetic Activity to the Solar Wind
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 122:11, s. 109-127
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate the lagged correlation between a selection of geomagnetic indices and solar wind parameters for a complete solar cycle, from 2000 to 2011. We first discuss the mathematical assumptions required for such a correlation analysis. The solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices have inherent timescales that smooth the variations of the correlation coefficients with time lag. Furthermore, the solar wind structure associated with corotating interaction regions and coronal mass ejections, and the compression regions ahead of them, strongly impacts the lagged correlation analysis results. This work shows that such bias must be taken into account in a correct interpretation of correlations. We then evidence that the magnetospheric response time to solar wind parameters involves multiple timescales. The simultaneous and quick response of the PC and AE indices to solar wind dynamic pressure with a delay of similar to 5 min suggests that magnetospheric compression by solar wind can trigger substorm activity. We find that the PC and AE indices respond to interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) B-Z with a response time of respectively similar to 20 and similar to 35 min. The response of the SYM-H index takes longer (similar to 80 min) and is less sharp, SYM-H being statistically significantly correlated to the IMF B-Z observed up to more than similar to 10 h before. Our results suggest that the solar wind velocity's dominant impact on geomagnetic activity is caused by the compression regions at the interface of fast/slow solar wind regimes, which are very geo-effective as they are associated with high solar wind pressure and strong interplanetary magnetic field.
|
|
| 8. |
- Maggiolo, R., et al.
(författare)
-
The earth's magnetic field enhances solar energy deposition in the upper atmosphere
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 127:12
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The presence of a large-scale planetary magnetic field is thought to be a protective factor for atmospheres, preventing them from being blown off by the solar wind. We focus on one key aspect of atmospheric escape: how does a planetary magnetic fields affect the energy transfer from the Sun to the atmosphere? We estimate the solar wind energy currently dissipated in the Earth's atmosphere using empirical formulas derived from observations. We show that it is significantly higher than the energy dissipated in the atmosphere of a hypothetical unmagnetized Earth. Consequently, we conclude that the Earth's magnetic field enhances the solar energy dissipation in the Earth's atmosphere and that, contrary to the old paradigm, an intrinsic magnetic field does not necessarily reduces atmospheric loss.
|
|
