首页 | 本学科首页   官方微博 | 高级检索  
     


Locations of Atmospheric Photoelectron Energy Peaks Within the Mars Environment
Authors:R. A. Frahm  J. R. Sharber  J. D. Winningham  P. Wurz  M. W. Liemohn  E. Kallio  M. Yamauchi  R. Lundin  S. Barabash  A. J. Coates  D. R. Linder  J. U. Kozyra  M. Holmström  S. J. Jeffers  H. Andersson  S. Mckenna-Lawler
Affiliation:(1) Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78228, USA;(2) University of Bern, Physikalisches Institut, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland;(3) Space Physics Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA;(4) Finnish Meteorological Institute, Box 503, FIN-00101 Helsinki, Finland;(5) Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Box 812, S-98 128 Kiruna, Sweden;(6) Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, London, RH5 6NT, UK;(7) Space Technology Ireland, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Abstract:
By identifying peaks in the photoelectron spectrum produced by photoionization of CO2 in the Martian atmosphere, we have conducted a pilot study to determine the locations of these photoelectrons in the space around Mars. The significant result of this study is that these photoelectrons populate a region around Mars bounded externally by the magnetic pileup boundary, and internally by the lowest altitude of our measurements (∼250 km) on the dayside and by a cylinder of approximately the planetary radius on the nightside. It is particularly noteworthy that the photoelectrons on the nightside are observed from the terminator plane tailward to a distance of ∼3 R M, the Mars Express apoapsis. The presence of the atmospherically generated photoelectrons on the nightside of Mars may be explained by direct magnetic field line connection between the nightside observation locations and the Martian dayside ionosphere. Thus the characteristic photoelectron peaks may be used as tracers of magnetic field lines for the study of the magnetic field configuration and particle transport in the Martian environment.
Keywords:Mars  photoelectrons
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录!
设为首页 | 免责声明 | 关于勤云 | 加入收藏

Copyright©北京勤云科技发展有限公司  京ICP备09084417号