No Arabic abstract
In the vicinity of Europa, Galileo observed bursty Alfven-cyclotron wave power at the gyrofrequencies of a number of species including K$^+$, O$_2^+$, Na$^+$, and Cl$^+$, indicating the localised pickup of these species. Additional evidence for the presence of chlorine was the occurrence of both left-hand (LH) and right-hand (RH) polarized transverse wave power near the Cl$^{+}$ gyrofrequency, thought to be due to the pickup of both Cl$^+$ and the easily formed chlorine anion, Cl$^-$. To test this hypothesis we use one-dimensional hybrid (kinetic ion, massless fluid electron) simulations for both positive and negative pickup ions and self-consistently reproduce the growth of both LH and RH Alfven-cyclotron waves in agreement with linear theory. We show how the simultaneous generation of LH and RH waves can result in nongyrotropic ion distributions and increased wave amplitudes, and how even trace quantities of negative pickup ions are able to generate an observable RH signal. Through comparing simulated and observed wave amplitudes, we are able to place the first constraints on the densities of chlorine pickup ions in localised regions at Europa.
We show the importance of separated efficiency corrections between positively and negatively charged particles for cumulant calculations by Monte Carlo toy models and analytical calculations. Our results indicate that S{sigma} in published net-proton results from the STAR experiment will be suppressed about 5 to 10% in central collisions, and 10 to 20% in peripheral collisions at the beam energy of sqrt s_{NN} = 62.4 and 200 GeV if the separated efficiencies are used to efficiency correction.
We use numerical models, supported by our laboratory data, to predict the dust densities of ejecta outflux at any altitude within the Hill spheres of Europa and Ganymede. The ejecta are created by micrometeoroid bombardment and five different dust populations are investigated as sources of dust around the moons. The impacting dust flux (influx) causes the ejection of a certain amount of surface material (outflux). The outflux populates the space around the moons, where a part of the ejecta escapes and the rest falls back to the surface. These models were validated against existing Galileo DDS (Dust Detector System) data collected during Europa and Ganymede flybys. Uncertainties of the input parameters and their effects on the model outcome are also included. The results of this model are important for future missions to Europa and Ganymede, such as JUICE (JUpiter ICy moon Explorer), recently selected as ESAs next large space mission to be launched in 2022.
Saturns largest icy moon, Rhea, hosts a tenuous surface-sputtered exosphere composed primarily of molecular oxygen and carbon dioxide. In this Letter, we examine Cassini Plasma Spectrometer velocity space distributions near Rhea and confirm that Cassini detected nongyrotropic fluxes of outflowing CO$_2^+$ during both the R1 and R1.5 encounters. Accounting for this nongyrotropy, we show that these possess comparable alongtrack densities of $sim$2$times$10$^{-3}$ cm$^{-3}$. Negatively charged pickup ions, also detected during R1, are surprisingly shown as consistent with mass 26$pm$3 u which we suggest are carbon-based compounds, such as CN$^-$, C$_2$H$^-$, C$_2^-$, or HCO$^-$, sputtered from carbonaceous material on the moons surface. These negative ions are calculated to possess alongtrack densities of $sim$5$times$10$^{-4}$ cm$^{-3}$ and are suggested to derive from exogenic compounds, a finding consistent with the existence of Rheas dynamic CO$_2$ exosphere and surprisingly low O$_2$ sputtering yields. These pickup ions provide important context for understanding the exospheric and surface-ice composition of Rhea and of other icy moons which exhibit similar characteristics.
Solar ionizing factors are responsible for modulation of interstellar neutral gas and its derivative populations inside the heliosphere. We provide an overview of the current state of knowledge about them for heliospheric particles inside the termination shock. We discuss charge exchange with solar wind particles, photoionization, and electron impact ionization for hydrogen, oxygen, neon, and helium from 1985 to 2018 both in the ecliptic plane and in the polar regions. We discuss ionization rates as a function of time, distance to the Sun, and latitude. We compare the total ionization rates among the species within a consistent and homogeneous system of calculation of the ionization rates. The highest total ionization rates at 1 au in the ecliptic plane are for hydrogen and oxygen, and the lowest are for helium. In the polar regions, the strongest ionization losses are for oxygen, regardless of the solar activity. Photoionization is the dominant ionization reaction for helium and neon, and a reaction of high significance for oxygen. Charge exchange with solar wind particles is the dominant ionization reaction for hydrogen and the second important ionization reaction for oxygen. Electron impact ionization is an important ionization reaction for Ne and He, with the contribution to the total ionization rates stronger within 1 au and smaller outside. The total ionization rates for He and Ne vary in time with the solar activity, whereas the total ionization rates for H and O follow the cyclic solar wind variations out of the ecliptic plane and aperiodic variations in the ecliptic plane.
Context. The first studies with Parker Solar Probe (PSP) data have made significant progress toward the understanding of the fundamental properties of ion cyclotron waves in the inner heliosphere. The survey mode particle measurements of PSP, however, did not make it possible to measure the coupling between electromagnetic fields and particles on the time scale of the wave periods. Aims. We present a novel approach to study wave-particle energy exchange with PSP. Methods. We use the Flux Angle operation mode of the Solar Probe Cup in conjunction with the electric field measurements and present a case study when the Flux Angle mode measured the direct interaction of the proton velocity distribution with an ion cyclotron wave. Results. Our results suggest that the energy transfer from fields to particles on the timescale of a cyclotron period is equal to approximately 3-6% of the electromagnetic energy flux. This rate is consistent with the hypothesis that the ion cyclotron wave was locally generated in the solar wind.