| 1. |
- Carlsson, Ella, et al.
(författare)
-
Mass composition of the escaping plasma at Mars
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier BV. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 182:2, s. 320-328
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Data from the Ion Mass Analyzer (IMA) sensor of the ASPERA-3 instrument suite on Mars Express have been analyzed to determine the mass composition of the escaping ion species at Mars. We have examined 77 different ion-beam events and we present the results in terms of flux ratios between the following ion species: CO2+/O+ and O-2(+)/O+. The following ratios averaged over all events and energies were identified: CO2+/O+ = 0.2 and O-2(+)/O+ = 0.9. The values measured are significantly higher, by a factor of 10 for O-2(+)/O+, than a contemporary modeled ratio for the maximum fluxes which the martian ionosphere can supply. The most abundant ion species was found to be O+, followed by O-2(+) and CO2+. We estimate the loss of CO2+ to be 4.0 x 10(24) s(-1) (0.29 kg s(-1)) by using the previous measurements of Phobos-2 in our calculations. The dependence of the ion ratios in relation to their energy ranges we studied, 0.3-3.0 keV, indicated that no clear correlation was found.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Arvelius, S., et al.
(författare)
-
Statistical study of relationships between dayside high-altitude and high-latitude O+ ion outflows, solar winds, and geomagnetic activity
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Annales Geophysicae. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 23, s. 1909-1916
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The persistent outflows of O+ ions observed by the Cluster CIS/CODIF instrument were studied statistically in the high-altitude (from 3 up to 11 RE) and high-latitude (from 70 to ~90 deg invariant latitude, ILAT) polar region. The principal results are: (1) Outflowing O+ ions with more than 1keV are observed above 10 RE geocentric distance and above 85deg ILAT location; (2) at 6-8 RE geocentric distance, the latitudinal distribution of O+ ion outflow is consistent with velocity filter dispersion from a source equatorward and below the spacecraft (e.g. the cusp/cleft); (3) however, at 8-12 RE geocentric distance the distribution of O+ outflows cannot be explained by velocity filter only. The results suggest that additional energization or acceleration processes for outflowing O+ ions occur at high altitudes and high latitudes in the dayside polar region.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 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. |
- Lammer, H., et al.
(författare)
-
What makes a planet habitable?
- 2009
-
Ingår i: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0935-4956 .- 1432-0754. ; 17:2, s. 181-249
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This work reviews factors which are important for the evolution of habitable Earth-like planets such as the effects of the host star dependent radiation and particle fluxes on the evolution of atmospheres and initial water inventories. We discuss the geodynamical and geophysical environments which are necessary for planets where plate tectonics remain active over geological time scales and for planets which evolve to one-plate planets. The discoveries of methane-ethane surface lakes on Saturn's large moon Titan, subsurface water oceans or reservoirs inside the moons of Solar System gas giants such as Europa, Ganymede, Titan and Enceladus and more than 335 exoplanets, indicate that the classical definition of the habitable zone concept neglects more exotic habitats and may fail to be adequate for stars which are different from our Sun. A classification of four habitat types is proposed. Class I habitats represent bodies on which stellar and geophysical conditions allow Earth-analog planets to evolve so that complex multi-cellular life forms may originate. Class II habitats includes bodies on which life may evolve but due to stellar and geophysical conditions that are different from the class I habitats, the planets rather evolve toward Venus- or Mars-type worlds where complex life-forms may not develop. Class III habitats are planetary bodies where subsurface water oceans exist which interact directly with a silicate-rich core, while class IV habitats have liquid water layers between two ice layers, or liquids above ice. Furthermore, we discuss from the present viewpoint how life may have originated on early Earth, the possibilities that life may evolve on such Earth-like bodies and how future space missions may discover manifestations of extraterrestrial life.
|
|
| 7. |
- Yamauchi, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Magnetospheric solitary structure maintained by 3000 km/s ions as a cause of westward moving auroral bulge at 19 MLT
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Annales Geophysicae. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 27:7, s. 2947-2969
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the evening equatorial magnetosphere at about 4 R-E geocentric distance and 19 MLT, the four Cluster spacecraft observed a solitary structure with a width of about 1000 similar to 2000 km in the propagation direction. The solitary structure propagates sunward with about 5 similar to 10 km/s carrying sunward electric field (in the propagation direction) of up to about 10 mV/m (total potential drop of about 5 similar to 10 kV), depletion of magnetic field of about 25%, and a duskward E x B convection up to 50 km/s of He+ rich cold plasma without O+. At the same time, auroral images from the IMAGE satellite together with ground based geomagnetic field data showed a westward (sunward at this location) propagating auroral bulge at the magnetically conjugate ionosphere with the solitary structure. The solitary structure is maintained by flux enhancement of selectively 3000 km/s ions (about 50 keV for H+, 200 keV for He+, and 750 keV for O+). These ions are the main carrier of the diamagnetic current causing the magnetic depletion, whereas the polarization is maintained by different behavior of energetic ions and electrons. Corresponding to aurora, field-aligned accelerated ionospheric plasma of several keV appeared at Cluster from both hemispheres simultaneously. Together with good correspondence in location and propagation velocity between the auroral bulge and the solitary structure, this indicates that the sunward moving auroral bulge is caused by the sunward propagation of the solitary structure which is maintained by energetic ions. The solitary structure might also be the cause of Pi2-like magnetic variation that started simultaneously at Cluster location.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
|
|
