| 1. |
- Tinetti, Giovanna, et al.
(författare)
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The EChO science case
- 2015
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 40:2-3, s. 329-391
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The discovery of almost two thousand exoplanets has revealed an unexpectedly diverse planet population. We see gas giants in few-day orbits, whole multi-planet systems within the orbit of Mercury, and new populations of planets with masses between that of the Earth and Neptune-all unknown in the Solar System. Observations to date have shown that our Solar System is certainly not representative of the general population of planets in our Milky Way. The key science questions that urgently need addressing are therefore: What are exoplanets made of? Why are planets as they are? How do planetary systems work and what causes the exceptional diversity observed as compared to the Solar System? The EChO (Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory) space mission was conceived to take up the challenge to explain this diversity in terms of formation, evolution, internal structure and planet and atmospheric composition. This requires in-depth spectroscopic knowledge of the atmospheres of a large and well-defined planet sample for which precise physical, chemical and dynamical information can be obtained. In order to fulfil this ambitious scientific program, EChO was designed as a dedicated survey mission for transit and eclipse spectroscopy capable of observing a large, diverse and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. The transit and eclipse spectroscopy method, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allows us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of at least 10(-4) relative to the star. This can only be achieved in conjunction with a carefully designed stable payload and satellite platform. It is also necessary to provide broad instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect as many molecular species as possible, to probe the thermal structure of the planetary atmospheres and to correct for the contaminating effects of the stellar photosphere. This requires wavelength coverage of at least 0.55 to 11 mu m with a goal of covering from 0.4 to 16 mu m. Only modest spectral resolving power is needed, with R similar to 300 for wavelengths less than 5 mu m and R similar to 30 for wavelengths greater than this. The transit spectroscopy technique means that no spatial resolution is required. A telescope collecting area of about 1 m(2) is sufficiently large to achieve the necessary spectro-photometric precision: for the Phase A study a 1.13 m(2) telescope, diffraction limited at 3 mu m has been adopted. Placing the satellite at L2 provides a cold and stable thermal environment as well as a large field of regard to allow efficient time-critical observation of targets randomly distributed over the sky. EChO has been conceived to achieve a single goal: exoplanet spectroscopy. The spectral coverage and signal-to-noise to be achieved by EChO, thanks to its high stability and dedicated design, would be a game changer by allowing atmospheric composition to be measured with unparalleled exactness: at least a factor 10 more precise and a factor 10 to 1000 more accurate than current observations. This would enable the detection of molecular abundances three orders of magnitude lower than currently possible and a fourfold increase from the handful of molecules detected to date. Combining these data with estimates of planetary bulk compositions from accurate measurements of their radii and masses would allow degeneracies associated with planetary interior modelling to be broken, giving unique insight into the interior structure and elemental abundances of these alien worlds. EChO would allow scientists to study exoplanets both as a population and as individuals. The mission can target super-Earths, Neptune-like, and Jupiter-like planets, in the very hot to temperate zones (planet temperatures of 300-3000 K) of F to M-type host stars. The EChO core science would be delivered by a three-tier survey. The EChO Chemical Census: This is a broad survey of a few-hundred exoplanets, which allows us to explore the spectroscopic and chemical diversity of the exoplanet population as a whole. The EChO Origin: This is a deep survey of a subsample of tens of exoplanets for which significantly higher signal to noise and spectral resolution spectra can be obtained to explain the origin of the exoplanet diversity (such as formation mechanisms, chemical processes, atmospheric escape). The EChO Rosetta Stones: This is an ultra-high accuracy survey targeting a subsample of select exoplanets. These will be the bright "benchmark" cases for which a large number of measurements would be taken to explore temporal variations, and to obtain two and three dimensional spatial information on the atmospheric conditions through eclipse-mapping techniques. If EChO were launched today, the exoplanets currently observed are sufficient to provide a large and diverse sample. The Chemical Census survey would consist of > 160 exoplanets with a range of planetary sizes, temperatures, orbital parameters and stellar host properties. Additionally, over the next 10 years, several new ground- and space-based transit photometric surveys and missions will come on-line (e.g. NGTS, CHEOPS, TESS, PLATO), which will specifically focus on finding bright, nearby systems. The current rapid rate of discovery would allow the target list to be further optimised in the years prior to EChO's launch and enable the atmospheric characterisation of hundreds of planets.
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| 2. |
- Coustenis, A., et al.
(författare)
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TandEM : Titan and Enceladus mission
- 2009
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 23:3, s. 893-946
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- TandEM was proposed as an L-class (large) mission in response to ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Call, and accepted for further studies, with the goal of exploring Titan and Enceladus. The mission concept is to perform in situ investigations of two worlds tied together by location and properties, whose remarkable natures have been partly revealed by the ongoing Cassini-Huygens mission. These bodies still hold mysteries requiring a complete exploration using a variety of vehicles and instruments. TandEM is an ambitious mission because its targets are two of the most exciting and challenging bodies in the Solar System. It is designed to build on but exceed the scientific and technological accomplishments of the Cassini-Huygens mission, exploring Titan and Enceladus in ways that are not currently possible (full close-up and in situ coverage over long periods of time). In the current mission architecture, TandEM proposes to deliver two medium-sized spacecraft to the Saturnian system. One spacecraft would be an orbiter with a large host of instruments which would perform several Enceladus flybys and deliver penetrators to its surface before going into a dedicated orbit around Titan alone, while the other spacecraft would carry the Titan in situ investigation components, i.e. a hot-air balloon (MontgolfiSre) and possibly several landing probes to be delivered through the atmosphere.
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| 3. |
- Jakosky, B. M., et al.
(författare)
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MAVEN observations of the response of Mars to an interplanetary coronal mass ejection
- 2015
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 350:6261
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere, combined with loss of gas from the upper atmosphere to space, likely contributed to the thin, cold, dry atmosphere of modern Mars. To help understand ongoing ion loss to space, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft made comprehensive measurements of the Mars upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the Sun and solar wind during an interplanetary coronal mass ejection impact in March 2015. Responses include changes in the bow shock and magnetosheath, formation of widespread diffuse aurora, and enhancement of pick-up ions. Observations and models both show an enhancement in escape rate of ions to space during the event. Ion loss during solar events early in Mars history may have been a major contributor to the long-term evolution of the Mars atmosphere.
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| 4. |
- Cravens, T. E., et al.
(författare)
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Model-data comparisons for Titan's nightside ionosphere
- 2009
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 199:1, s. 174-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar and X-ray radiation and energetic plasma from Saturn's magnetosphere interact with the upper atmosphere producing an ionosphere at Titan. The highly coupled ionosphere and upper atmosphere system mediates the interaction between Titan and the external environment. A model of Titan's nightside ionosphere will be described and the results compared with data from the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) and the Langmuir probe (LP) part of the Radio and Plasma Wave (RPWS) experiment for the T5 and T21 nightside encounters of the Cassini Orbiter with Titan. Electron impact ionization associated with the precipitation of magnetospheric electrons into the upper atmosphere is assumed to be the source of the nightside ionosphere, at least for altitudes above 1000 km. Magnetospheric electron fluxes measured by the Cassini electron spectrometer (CAPS ELS) are used as an input for the model. The model is used to interpret the observed composition and structure of the T5 and T21 ionospheres. The densities of many ion species (e.g., CH5+ and C2H5+) measured during T5 exhibit temporal and/or spatial variations apparently associated with variations in the fluxes of energetic electrons that precipitate into the atmosphere from Saturn's magnetosphere.
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| 5. |
- Vuitton, V., et al.
(författare)
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Negative ion chemistry in Titan's upper atmosphere
- 2009
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Ingår i: Planetary and Space Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-0633 .- 1873-5088. ; 57:13, s. 1558-1572
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Electron Spectrometer (ELS), one of the sensors making up the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) revealed the existence of numerous negative ions in Titan's upper atmosphere. The observations at closest approach (similar to 1000 km) show evidence for negatively charged ions up to similar to 10,000 amu/q, as well as two distinct peaks at 22+/-4 and 44+/-8 amu/q, and maybe a third one at 82+/-14 amu/q. We present the first ionospheric model of Titan including negative ion chemistry. We find that dissociative electron attachment to neutral molecules (mostly HCN) initiates the formation of negative ions. The negative charge is then transferred to more acidic molecules such as HC3N, HC5N or C4H2. Loss occurs through associative detachment with radicals (H and CH3). We attribute the three low mass peaks observed by ELS to CN-, C3N-/C4H- and C5N-. These species are the first intermediates in the formation of the even larger negative ions observed by ELS. which are most likely the precursors to the aerosols observed at lower altitudes.
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| 6. |
- Cui, J., et al.
(författare)
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Diurnal variations of Titan's ionosphere
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 114:6, s. A06310-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present our analysis of the diurnal variations of Titan's ionosphere (between 1000 and 1300 km) based on a sample of Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) measurements in the Open Source Ion (OSI) mode obtained from eight close encounters of the Cassini spacecraft with Titan. Although there is an overall ion depletion well beyond the terminator, the ion content on Titan's nightside is still appreciable, with a density plateau of similar to 700 cm(-3) below similar to 1300 km. Such a plateau is a combined result of significant depletion of light ions and modest depletion of heavy ones on Titan's nightside. We propose that the distinctions between the diurnal variations of light and heavy ions are associated with their different chemical loss pathways, with the former primarily through "fast'' ion-neutral chemistry and the latter through "slow'' electron dissociative recombination. The strong correlation between the observed night-to-day ion density ratios and the associated ion lifetimes suggests a scenario in which the ions created on Titan's dayside may survive well to the nightside. The observed asymmetry between the dawn and dusk ion density profiles also supports such an interpretation. We construct a time-dependent ion chemistry model to investigate the effect of ion survival associated with solid body rotation alone as well as superrotating horizontal winds. For long-lived ions, the predicted diurnal variations have similar general characteristics to those observed. However, for short-lived ions, the model densities on the nightside are significantly lower than the observed values. This implies that electron precipitation from Saturn's magnetosphere may be an additional and important contributor to the densities of the short-lived ions observed on Titan's nightside.
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| 7. |
- Robertson, I. P., et al.
(författare)
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Structure of Titan's ionosphere : Model comparisons with Cassini data
- 2009
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Ingår i: Planetary and Space Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-0633 .- 1873-5088. ; 57:14-15, s. 1834-1846
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar extreme ultraviolet and X-ray radiation and energetic plasma from Saturn's magnetosphere interact with the upper atmosphere producing an ionosphere at Titan. The highly coupled ionosphere and upper atmosphere system mediates the interaction between Titan and the external environment. New insights into Titan's ionosphere are being facilitated by data from several instruments onboard the Cassini Orbiter, although the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) measurements will be emphasized here. We present dayside ionosphere models and compare the results with both Radio and Plasma Wave-Langmuir Probe (RPWS/LP) and INMS data, exploring the sensitivity of models to ionospheric chemistry schemes and solar flux variations. Modeled electron densities for the dayside leg of T18 and all of T17 (dayside) had reasonable agreement with the measured RPWS electron densities and INMS total ion densities. Magnetospheric inputs make at best minor contributions to the ionosphere for these flybys, at least for altitudes above about 1000 km. At lower (< 1100 km) altitudes, the total ion densities measured by the INMS are less than the electron densities measured by the RPWS/LP which could be due to heavy (> 100 daltons) ions, which the INMS is not able to detect. Qualitatively, INMS spectra exhibit the same ion species and 12 amu family separations for the dayside ionospheres of T17 and T18 as were seen in the mass spectra measured during T5 (nightside). However, the relative abundance of high-mass (m > 50) ion species is about 10 times less for the dayside T17 and T18 passes than it was for the polar nightside T5 flyby, which can perhaps be explained in several ways including differences in neutral composition, less dissociative recombination on the nightside than on the dayside (due to lower electron densities and affecting heavier ion species more than lighter ones), and transport of longer-lived high-mass species from day-to-night.
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| 8. |
- Vigren, E., et al.
(författare)
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INCREASING POSITIVE ION NUMBER DENSITIES BELOW THE PEAK OF ION-ELECTRON PAIR PRODUCTION IN TITAN'S IONOSPHERE
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 786:1, s. 69-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We combine derived ion-electron pair formation rates with Cassini Radio Plasma Wave Science Langmuir Probe measurements of electron and positive ion number densities in Titan's sunlit ionosphere. We show that positive ion number densities in Titan's sunlit ionosphere can increase toward significantly lower altitudes than the peak of ion-electron pair formation despite that the effective ion-electron recombination coefficient increases. This is explained by the increased mixing ratios of negative ions, which are formed by electron attachment to neutrals. While such a process acts as a sink for free electrons, the positive ions become longer-lived as the rate coefficients for ion-anion neutralization reactions are smaller than those for ion-electron dissociative recombination reactions.
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| 9. |
- Vigren, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Ionization balance in Titan's nightside ionosphere
- 2015
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 248, s. 539-546
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Based on a multi-instrumental Cassini dataset we make model versus observation comparisons of plasma number densities, n(p) = (n(e)n(1))(1/2) (n(e) and n(1) being the electron number density and total positive ion number density, respectively) and short-lived ion number densities (N+, CH2+, CH3+, CH4+) in the southern hemisphere of Titan's nightside ionosphere over altitudes ranging from 1100 and 1200 km and from 1100 to 1350 km, respectively. The n(p) model assumes photochemical equilibrium, ion-electron pair production driven by magnetospheric electron precipitation and dissociative recombination as the principal plasma neutralization process. The model to derive short-lived-ion number densities assumes photochemical equilibrium for the short-lived ions, primary ion production by electron-impact ionization of N-2 and CH4 and removal of the short-lived ions through reactions with CH4. It is shown that the models reasonably reproduce the observations, both with regards to tip and the number densities of the short-lived ions. This is contrasted by the difficulties in accurately reproducing ion and electron number densities in Titan's sunlit ionosphere. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Vigren, E., et al.
(författare)
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On the thermal electron balance in Titan's sunlit upper atmosphere
- 2013
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 223:1, s. 234-251
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Cassini mission has investigated Titan's upper atmosphere in detail and found that, under solar irradiation, it has a well-developed ionosphere, which peaks between 1000 and 1200km. In this paper we focus on the T40, T41, T42 and T48 Titan flybys by the Cassini spacecraft and use in situ measurements of N2 and CH4 densities by the Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) as input into a solar energy deposition model to determine electron production rates. We combine these electron production rates with estimates of the effective recombination coefficient based on available laboratory data for Titan ions' dissociative recombination rates and electron temperatures derived from the Langmuir probe (LP) to predict electron number densities in Titan's upper atmosphere, assuming photochemical equilibrium and loss of electrons exclusively through dissociative recombination with molecular ions. We then compare these predicted electron number densities with those observed in Titan's upper atmosphere by the LP. The assumption of photochemical equilibrium is supported by a reasonable agreement between the altitudes where the electron densities are observed to peak and where the electron production rates are calculated to peak (roughly corresponding to the unit optical depth for HeII photons at 30.38nm). We find, however, that the predicted electron number densities are nearly a factor of two higher than those observed throughout the altitude range between 1050 and 1200km (where we have made estimates of the effective recombination coefficient). There are different possible reasons for this discrepancy; one possibility is that there may be important loss processes of free electrons other than dissociative recombination in Titan's upper atmosphere.
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