| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Dandouras, Iannis, et al.
(författare)
-
Titan's exosphere and its interaction with Saturn's magnetosphere
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Philosophical Transactions. Series A. - : The Royal Society. - 1364-503X .- 1471-2962. ; 367:1889, s. 743-752
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Titan's nitrogen-rich atmosphere is directly bombarded by energetic ions, due to its lack of a significant intrinsic magnetic field. Singly charged energetic ions from Saturn's magnetosphere undergo charge-exchange collisions with neutral atoms in Titan's upper atmosphere, or exosphere, being transformed into energetic neutral atoms (ENAs). The ion and neutral camera, one of the three sensors that comprise the magnetosphere imaging instrument (MIMI) on the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan, images these ENAs like photons, and measures their fluxes and energies. These remote-sensing measurements, combined with the in situ measurements performed in the upper thermosphere and in the exosphere by the ion and neutral mass spectrometer instrument, provide a powerful diagnostic of Titan's exosphere and its interaction with the Kronian magnetosphere. These observations are analysed and some of the exospheric features they reveal are modelled.
|
|
| 3. |
- Dimmock, Andrew P., et al.
(författare)
-
Direct evidence of nonstationary collisionless shocks in space plasmas
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Science Advances. - : AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE. - 2375-2548. ; 5:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collisionless shocks are ubiquitous throughout the universe: around stars, supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei, binary systems, comets, and planets. Key information is carried by electromagnetic emissions from particles accelerated by high Mach number collisionless shocks. These shocks are intrinsically nonstationary, and the characteristic physical scales responsible for particle acceleration remain unknown. Quantifying these scales is crucial, as it affects the fundamental process of redistributing upstream plasma kinetic energy into other degrees of freedom-particularly electron thermalization. Direct in situ measurements of nonstationary shock dynamics have not been reported. Thus, the model that best describes this process has remained unknown. Here, we present direct evidence demonstrating that the transition to nonstationarity is associated with electron-scale field structures inside the shock ramp.
|
|
| 4. |
- Engwall, Erik, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
-
Low-energy (order 10 eV) ion flow in the magnetotail lobes inferred from spacecraft wake observations
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 33, s. L06110-1-L06110-4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cold ionospheric ions with eV energies are common inthe magnetosphere and can travel far out in the magnetotail.However, they are difficult to measure with conventional ionspectrometers mounted on spacecraft, since the potential of asunlit spacecraft often reaches several tens of volts. In thispaper we present two alternative methods of measuring thecold-ion flow with the Cluster spacecraft and apply them onone case in the magnetotail at 18 RE: 1. Ion spectrometer incombination with artificial spacecraft potential control;2. Deriving ion flow velocity (both perpendicular andparallel) from electric field instruments. The secondmethod takes advantage of the effect on the doubleprobeinstrument of the wake formed behind a spacecraftin a plasma flow. The results from the two methods showgood agreement and are also consistent with polar windmodels and previous measurements at lower altitudes,confirming the continuation of low-energy ion outflows.
|
|
| 5. |
- Giang, Tony, et al.
(författare)
-
Outflowing protons and heavy ions as a source for the sub-keV ringcurrent
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Annales Geophysicae. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 27:2, s. 839-849
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Data from the Cluster CIS instrument have been used for studying proton and heavy ion (O+ and He+ ) char- acteristics of the sub-keV ring current. Thirteen events with dispersed heavy ions (O+ and He+ ) were identified out of two years (2001 and 2002) of Cluster data. Allevents took place during rather geomagnetically quiet periods. Three of those events have been investigated in detail: 21 August 2001, 26 November 2001 and 20 February 2002. These events were chosen from varying magnetic local times (MLT), and they showed different characteristics. In this article, we discuss the potential source for sub-keV ring current ions. We show that: (1) outflows of terrestrialsub-keV ions are supplied to the ring current also during quiet geomagnetic conditions; (2) the composition of the out-flow implies an origin that covers an altitude interval from the low-altitude ionosphere to the plasmasphere, and (3) terrestrial ions are moving upward along magnetic field lines, at times forming narrow collimated beams, but frequently also as broad beams. Over time, the ion beams are expected to gradually become isotropised as a result of wave-particleinteraction, eventually taking the form of isotropic drifting sub-keV ion signatures. We argue that the sub-keV energy-time dispersed signatures originate from field-aligned terrestrial ion energising and outflow, which may occur at all local times and persist also during quiet times.
|
|
| 6. |
- Hamrin, Maria, et al.
(författare)
-
Geomagnetic activity effects on plasma sheet energy conversion
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Annales Geophysicae. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 28, s. 1813-1825
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article we use three years (2001, 2002, and 2004) of Cluster plasma sheet data to investigate what happens to localized energy conversion regions (ECRs) in the plasma sheet during times of high magnetospheric activity. By examining variations in the power density, E·J, where E is the electric field and J is the current density obtained by Cluster, we have studied the influence on Concentrated Load Regions (CLRs) and Concentrated Generator Regions (CGRs) from variations in the geomagnetic disturbance level as expressed by the Kp, the AE, and the Dst indices. We find that the ECR occurrence frequency increases during higher magnetospheric activities, and that the ECRs become stronger. This is true both for CLRs and for CGRs, and the localized energy conversion therefore concerns energy conversion in both directions between the particles and the fields in the plasma sheet. A higher geomagnetic activity hence increases the general level of energy conversion in the plasma sheet. Moreover, we have shown that CLRs live longer during magnetically disturbed times, hence converting more electromagnetic energy. The CGR lifetime, on the other hand, seems to be unaffected by the geomagnetic activity level. The evidence for increased energy conversion during geomagnetically disturbed times is most clear for Kp and for AE, but there are also some indications that energy conversion increases during large negative Dst. This is consistent with the plasma sheet magnetically mapping to the auroral zone, and therefore being more tightly coupled to auroral activities and variations in the AE and Kp indices, than to variations in the ring current region as described by the Dst index.
|
|
| 7. |
- Kis, Arpad, et al.
(författare)
-
Gyrosurfing Acceleration Of Ions In Front Of Earth's Quasi-Parallel Bow Shock
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 771:1, s. 4-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is well known that shocks in space plasmas can accelerate particles to high energies. However, many details of the shock acceleration mechanism are still unknown. A critical element of shock acceleration is the injection problem; i.e., the presence of the so called seed particle population that is needed for the acceleration to work efficiently. In our case study, we present for the first time observational evidence of gyroresonant surfing acceleration in front of Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock resulting in the appearance of the long-suspected seed particle population. For our analysis, we use simultaneous multi-spacecraft measurements provided by the Cluster spacecraft ion (CIS), magnetic (FGM), and electric field and wave instrument (EFW) during a time period of large inter-spacecraft separation distance. The spacecraft were moving toward the bow shock and were situated in the foreshock region. The results show that the gyroresonance surfing acceleration takes place as a consequence of interaction between circularly polarized monochromatic (or quasi-monochromatic) transversal electromagnetic plasma waves and short large amplitude magnetic structures (SLAMSs). The magnetic mirror force of the SLAMS provides the resonant conditions for the ions trapped by the waves and results in the acceleration of ions. Since wave packets with circular polarization and different kinds of magnetic structures are very commonly observed in front of Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock, the gyroresonant surfing acceleration proves to be an important particle injection mechanism. We also show that seed ions are accelerated directly from the solar wind ion population.
|
|
| 8. |
- Palmroth, Minna, et al.
(författare)
-
Lower-thermosphere-ionosphere (LTI) quantities : current status of measuring techniques and models
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Annales Geophysicae. - : Copernicus Publications. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 39:1, s. 189-237
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The lower-thermosphere-ionosphere (LTI) system consists of the upper atmosphere and the lower part of the ionosphere and as such comprises a complex system coupled to both the atmosphere below and space above. The atmospheric part of the LTI is dominated by laws of continuum fluid dynamics and chemistry, while the ionosphere is a plasma system controlled by electromagnetic forces driven by the magnetosphere, the solar wind, as well as the wind dynamo. The LTI is hence a domain controlled by many different physical processes. However, systematic in situ measurements within this region are severely lacking, although the LTI is located only 80 to 200 km above the surface of our planet. This paper reviews the current state of the art in measuring the LTI, either in situ or by several different remote-sensing methods. We begin by outlining the open questions within the LTI requiring high-quality in situ measurements, before reviewing directly observable parameters and their most important derivatives. The motivation for this review has arisen from the recent retention of the Daedalus mission as one among three competing mission candidates within the European Space Agency (ESA) Earth Explorer 10 Programme. However, this paper intends to cover the LTI parameters such that it can be used as a background scientific reference for any mission targeting in situ observations of the LTI.
|
|
| 9. |
- Sarris, Theodoros E., et al.
(författare)
-
Daedalus : a low-flying spacecraft for in situ exploration of the lower thermosphere-ionosphere
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems. - : COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH. - 2193-0856 .- 2193-0864. ; 9:1, s. 153-191
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Daedalus mission has been proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) in response to the call for ideas for the Earth Observation program's 10th Earth Explorer. It was selected in 2018 as one of three candidates for a phase-0 feasibility study. The goal of the mission is to quantify the key electrodynamic processes that determine the structure and composition of the upper atmosphere, the gateway between the Earth's atmosphere and space. An innovative preliminary mission design allows Daedalus to access electrodynamics processes down to altitudes of 150 km and below. Daedalus will perform in situ measurements of plasma density and temperature, ion drift, neutral density and wind, ion and neutral composition, electric and magnetic fields, and precipitating particles. These measurements will unambiguously quantify the amount of energy deposited in the upper atmosphere during active and quiet geomagnetic times via Joule heating and energetic particle precipitation, estimates of which currently vary by orders of magnitude between models and observation methods. An innovation of the Daedalus preliminary mission concept is that it includes the release of subsatellites at low altitudes: combined with the main spacecraft, these subsatellites will provide multipoint measurements throughout the lower thermosphereionosphere (LTI) region, down to altitudes below 120 km, in the heart of the most under-explored region in the Earth's atmosphere. This paper describes Daedalus as originally proposed to the ESA.
|
|
| 10. |
- Sarris, Theodore E., et al.
(författare)
-
Daedalus MASE (mission assessment through simulation exercise): A toolset for analysis of in situ missions and for processing global circulation model outputs in the lower thermosphere-ionosphere
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-987X. ; 9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Daedalus MASE (Mission Assessment through Simulation Exercise) is an open-source package of scientific analysis tools aimed at research in the Lower Thermosphere-Ionosphere (LTI). It was created with the purpose to assess the performance and demonstrate closure of the mission objectives of Daedalus, a mission concept targeting to perform in-situ measurements in the LTI. However, through its successful usage as a mission-simulator toolset, Daedalus MASE has evolved to encompass numerous capabilities related to LTI science and modeling. Inputs are geophysical observables in the LTI, which can be obtained either through in-situ measurements from spacecraft and rockets, or through Global Circulation Models (GCM). These include ion, neutral and electron densities, ion and neutral composition, ion, electron and neutral temperatures, ion drifts, neutral winds, electric field, and magnetic field. In the examples presented, these geophysical observables are obtained through NCAR’s Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model. Capabilities of Daedalus MASE include: 1) Calculations of products that are derived from the above geophysical observables, such as Joule heating, energy transfer rates between species, electrical currents, electrical conductivity, ion-neutral collision frequencies between all combinations of species, as well as height-integrations of derived products. 2) Calculation and cross-comparison of collision frequencies and estimates of the effect of using different models of collision frequencies into derived products. 3) Calculation of the uncertainties of derived products based on the uncertainties of the geophysical observables, due to instrument errors or to uncertainties in measurement techniques. 4) Routines for the along-orbit interpolation within gridded datasets of GCMs. 5) Routines for the calculation of the global coverage of an in situ mission in regions of interest and for various conditions of solar and geomagnetic activity. 6) Calculations of the statistical significance of obtaining the primary and derived products throughout an in situ mission’s lifetime. 7) Routines for the visualization of 3D datasets of GCMs and of measurements along orbit. Daedalus MASE code is accompanied by a set of Jupyter Notebooks, incorporating all required theory, references, codes and plotting in a user-friendly environment. Daedalus MASE is developed and maintained at the Department for Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Democritus University of Thrace, with key contributions from several partner institutions.
|
|
