Neutral atmosphere and crustal magnetization as factors determining differences in plasma convection and magnetic fields distribution in the ionospheres of Mars and Venus

The pattern of the magnetic field/plasma convection can be, to some extent, recovered from the magnetic field measurements by employing either theoretical or numerical models. We use the MAG/ER day-time measurements of the magnetic field at the altitudes from 90 to 180 km during the elliptical orbits of MGS. Analysis of the altitude variation of the characteristics of the large-scale magnetic fields, which were measured some distance away from strong crustal magnetic anomalies, is summarized. The low density of the Martian atmosphere together with the crustal magnetization result in critical differences in plasma convection which are followed by remarkable differences of the magnetic field features within the ionosphere of Venus and Mars (even in its northern hemisphere where the crustal magnetization is, on the average, low) and distribution of currents.     

Effects of strong geomagnetic storms on Northern railways in Russia

Seventeen severe magnetic storms occurred in the period 2000 through 2005. In addition there was a major magnetic storm in March 1989. During each of these storms there was an anomaly in the operation of the system of Signalization, Centralization and Blockage (SCB) in some divisions of the high-latitude (∼58 to 64°N) Russian railways. This anomaly was revealed as false traffic light signals about the occupation of the railways. These signals on the Northern railways appeared exactly during the main phases of the strongest part of the geomagnetic storms characterized by high geomagnetic indices Dst and Kp (Ap). Moreover, the durations of these anomalies coincided with the period of the greatest geomagnetic disturbances in a given event. Geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) during significant strengthening of geomagnetic activity are concluded as the obvious reasons for such kind of anomalies.     

Magnetic longitude variations in the IO torus

We review the evidence for both systematic variations in the optical properties of the Io torus with magnetic longitude and for plasma corotational lag. We summarize the results of a recent paper in which we showed that observed longitudinal variations in [SII] emission and contemporaneous measurements indicating little longitudinal variation in total charge density can be explained in terms of local (i.e., longitudinally confined) plasma sources and effects of corotational lag. We present here new measurements of both [SII] and [SIII] emissions as a function of magnetic longitude that indicate local plasma production, but no significant departure of the bulk plasma from corotation. The data suggest, however, that the longitudes of plasma formation drift in the sense of subcorotation.     

Estimation of the bias of the Minimum Variance technique in the determination of magnetic clouds global quantities and orientation

Magnetic clouds (MCs) are highly magnetized plasma structures that have a low proton temperature and a magnetic field vector that rotates when seen by a heliospheric observer. More than 25 years of observations of magnetic and plasma properties of MCs at 1 AU have provided significant knowledge of their magnetic structure. However, because in situ observations only give information along the trajectory of the spacecraft, their real 3D magnetic configuration remains still partially unknown. We generate a set of synthetic clouds, exploring the space of parameters that represents the possible orientations and minimum distances of the satellite trajectory to the cloud axis, p. The synthetic clouds have a local cylindrical symmetry and a linear force-free magnetic configuration. From the analysis of synthetic clouds, we quantify the errors introduced in the determination of the orientation/size (and, consequently, of the global magnetohydrodynamic quantities) by the Minimum Variance method when p is not zero.     

膨胀磁场和太阳风粒子相互作用三维数值模拟

采用三维模型,使用混合网格质点法HPIC(Hybrid Particle-in-Cell)对膨胀的磁场和太阳风相互作用过程进行数值模拟.研究了线圈产生的偶极子磁场在注入等离子体后和太阳风粒子的相互作用过程,并对以不同速度入射的等离子体引起的太阳风粒子的变化和磁场变化进行了比较.研究结果表明,偶极子磁场和太阳风作用时会产生弓形激波,此时磁压等于太阳风粒子的动压,当向线圈产生的偶极子磁场中注入高能等离子体时引起磁场膨胀,膨胀的磁场将会排斥太阳风粒子向外运动,从而引起弓形激波的变化,增大与太阳风相互作用的面积,并且粒子入射速度越大,磁场膨胀越明显,与太阳风相互作用愈强.      

The Jovian magnetotail

This paper will review the present state of knowledge of plasma, magnetic field and plasma wave characteristics of the Jovian magnetotail, near Jupiter and to distances as great as 9,000 Jupiter radii, and from both the large and small scale perspectives. Our knowledge of Jupiter's tail, especially the distant tail, comes primarily from data from five experiments onboard Voyager 2, some of which will be presented. The Jovian tail has many unusual properties, such as the large scale sausage-string shape of its outer boundary, but shares some important properties with earth's magnetotail, such as a central current sheet and a surrounding region resembling a plasma sheet consisting of hot ions (E > 28 keV). This new interpretation of the existence of a “plasma sheet” clears up the dilemma of the so-called core regions, which we will discuss. There is a significant flow of plasma of solar wind origin in the distant tail lobes having (tailward) speeds and densities suggestive of boundary layer plasma. We will discuss tail size, estimated magnetic flux content, degree of field helicity, magnetic turbulence (in near vs. far tail regions), and evidence for the tearing away of the tail (probably by field reconnection) at the time of an interplanetary magnetic sector boundary passage.     

基于等离子体磁壳的行星探测器制动机理研究

等离子体磁壳制动技术是一种新型的行星探测器制动手段，具有制动阻力可调、可靠性高、结构质量小等优势，具有潜在的应用前景。开展了等离子体磁壳制动产生方式与工作机理的数值仿真研究。首先，以火星探测器的制动为背景，将等离子体磁壳简化为圆柱构型，建立了等离子体磁壳宏观模型，得到了制动阻力、有效捕获面积和探测器速度随轨道高度的变化关系。随后以等离子体磁壳中离子、电子和次中性粒子之间的相互作用为研究对象，建立了等离子体磁壳微观模型，获得了等离子体粒子数密度和温度随时间变化的规律。微观模型与宏观模型计算出的制动阻力一致，验证了两种模型的有效性。     

等离子体彗尾动力学的数值研究

本文基于可压缩磁流体动力学模型,数值研究了尾瓣巾具有超Alfven速流动的等离子体彗尾的动力学特征。结果表明,等离子体片和尾瓣之间的剪切等离子体流动将会激发流动撕裂模不稳定性,引起彗尾等离子体片中发生磁场重联,形成磁岛和高密度的等离子体团。进而模拟了太阳风引起的局部驱动力对等离子体彗尾中磁场重联的影响,其特征时间远大于流动撕裂模。我们认为一些观测到的等离子体彗尾中的四块和彗尾截断事件可能主要与彗尾中剪切等离子体流动所引起的流动撕裂模不稳定性有关。      

太阳大气中有限振幅磁场扰动的动力学过程

本文从完整的磁流体动力学方程组出发,通过太阳大气中磁力线管根部有限振幅磁场的扰动,研究了非线性磁场的动力学演化。假设初始磁场位形足β<<1的势场,根部磁力线管磁场扰动,驱动等离子体运动,一部分磁能转换为等离子体动能。等离子体压缩运动具有快磁声波的特性。计算结果给出非线性磁场演化的定量关系,可以解释太阳大气中日冕活动过程。也可用于模拟实验室里高β实验装置中的等离子体的持性。      

自身场磁等离子体推力器数值仿真流场特性分析

磁等离子体推力器以其推力大、比冲高等特点,成为未来深空探测、星际航行任务首选的电推力器类型,研究推力器内部等离子体流场特性,有利于解释推力器出现的物理现象。针对特定自身场磁等离子体推力器,建立磁流体模型,使用TVD Lax-Friedrich格式以及ADI方法对推力器内部及羽流进行数值求解,得到等离子体流场及等离子体参数分布情况,仿真结果显示在高电流工况下,等离子体羽流更加集中,轴向加速效果更加显著,但高电流模式下阴极温度较高,不利于阴极的使用寿命。     

Whistler waves in plasmas with time-varying magnetic field: Laboratory investigation

Modulation of whistler waves in a plasma with time-dependant magnetic field perturbations was investigated experimentally. The experiments were performed on large “Krot” device, which was specially designed to study space plasma physics phenomena. It is shown that magnetic field variations on the wave propagation path can lead to splitting of initially continuous whistler wave into the sequence of bursts, whose repetition rate corresponds to magnetic field perturbation period. The frequency inside each burst is changing from its front edge to the back edge. Relative shift of the wave frequency can be as large as the relative magnetic disturbance. Distortion of whistler wave frequency spectrum after its passing through magnetically disturbed areas can be used as a diagnostics for low-frequency magnetic field variations. The applicability of our laboratory results to space plasma is discussed.     

The study of a plasma jet injected by an on-board plasma thruster

The injected plasma jet-ionosphere interaction features were studied in experiments carried out on board two METEOR satellites. The injected plasma jet propagation depends considerably on jet injection pitch-angle. The impactless jet spreading took place without considerable interaction with the ionosphere plasma, when injected along the magnetic field. By injection across the magnetic field very effective plasma jet-ionosphere plasma and the Earth's magnetic field interaction was observed. Plasma jet injection provoked the generation of electromagnetic fields near the satellite.     

螺旋波电推进羽流电磁矢量控制的原理性验证

推进器羽流的电磁矢量控制是基于电磁位形的改变使得喷射的羽流改变方向。为了原理性验证电推进羽流电磁矢量控制技术，针对螺旋波电推进器，开展了磁场位形调制仿真设计和试验验证。说明了电磁矢量调制线圈能够改变磁场位型，并且在试验过程中验证了等离子体羽流随磁场位型变化而产生的羽流方向偏转。在周期性磁场调制过程中，验证了等离子体密度参数随之周期性涨落。螺旋波电推进羽流方向最大偏转角度60°，可控偏转频率15Hz，说明了电推进羽流电磁矢量控制的可行性。     

Comparison of heliospheric conditions near the earth during four recent solar maxima

Statistical properties of the daily averaged values of the solar activity (sunspot numbers, total solar irradiance and 10.7 cm radio emission indices), the solar wind plasma and the interplanetary magnetic field parameters near the Earth’s orbit are investigated for a period from 1964 to 2002 covering the maxima of four solar cycles from 20th to 23rd. Running half-year averages show significant solar cycle variations in the solar activity indices but only marginal and insignificant changes in comparison with background fluctuations for heliospheric bulk plasma and magnetic field parameters. The current 23rd cycle maximum is weaker than 21st and 22nd maxima, but slightly stronger than 20th cycle in most of solar and heliospheric manifestations.     

Sunspot cycle 23 descent to an unusual minimum and forecasts for cycle 24 activity

The decay phase of the sunspot cycle 23 exhibited two unusual features. First, it lasted too long. Second, the interplanetary magnetic field intensity at earth orbit reached the lowest value since in situ measurements in space began in October 1963. These physical anomalies significantly altered the early forecasts for the sunspot activity parameters for cycle 24, made by several colleagues. We note that there was a significant change in the solar behavior during cycle 22. We discuss the observed trends and their effect on our empirical solar activity forecast technique, leading to our prediction for cycle 24 parameters; cycle 24 will be only half as active as cycle 23, reaching its peak in May 2013. We speculate on the possible implications of this outcome on future earth climate change and the ensuing socio-economic consequences.     

Inconsistency of magnetic field and plasma velocity variations in the distant plasma sheet: Violation of the “frozen-in” criterion?

Measurements of the magnetic field and low energy plasma by the GEOTAIL spacecraft have been used to study the relationship between variations of the plasma velocity and of the magnetic field in the distant (100–200 R_E) and middle (40–80 R_E) tail. The analysis was carried out separately for the tail lobes and the plasma sheet. It is shown that the absolute values of the magnetic field and plasma velocity, as well as their corresponding components (V_X and B_X, V_Y and B_Y, V_Z and B_Z), are linearly connected in the tail lobes. In the plasma sheet, however, the plasma velocity and the magnetic field do not seem to be related to one another. The distant plasma sheet seems to be in a regime of turbulence. The diffusion coefficients estimated from our data set of the velocity parameters in the plasma sheet are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions of Antonova and Ovchinnikov (1996, 1999).     

A new parameter to define interplanetary coronal mass ejections

The interplanetary manifestations of coronal mass ejections, ICMEs, have many signatures in the solar wind but none of these signatures in the velocity, density, temperature, magnetic field, plasma composition or energetic particles uniquely and unambiguously identifies the occurrence of an ICME. Different investigators identify different events when confronted with the same data. Herein, we present a single physical parameter that combines information from multiple plasma components and that holds the promise of defining a beginning and an end of the region of influence ICME and an indication of the location of the encounter with the ICME relative to its central meridian. This parameter is the total plasma pressure perpendicular to the magnetic field, consisting of the sum of the magnetic pressure and plasma kinetic or thermal pressure. It provides a vehicle for classifying the nature of the ICME encounter and, in many cases, provides an unambiguous start and stop time of the event. However, it does not provide a start and stop time for any embedded flux rope. This identification depends on examination of the magnetic field.     

Theory and observations of cometary ionospheres

The physical and chemical processes responsible for cometary ionospheres are now beginning to be understood, due to comparisons between theoretical results and recently obtained in situ observations of the ionospheric plasma and magnetic field of comet Halley. The contact surface which separates outflowing cometary plasma from solar wind controlled cometary plasma can be explained in terms of a balance between the magnetic pressure gradient force and ion-neutral drag. An analytic expression for the magnetic field in the vicinity of the contact surface is given in this paper.     

深空探测磁动力技术研究进展

开展深空探测对人类研究宇宙起源与发展、生命存在与进化等重大科学问题具有重要的意义。深空探测有很多关键技术有待突破,先进推进技术是其中最为重要的一个。而可用于深空探测的无需携带推进剂的磁动力推进技术,是利用太阳系和宇宙中广泛存在的等离子体流,使探测器所携带的低密度超导材料制作的线圈通电,在探测器周围形成一个磁场区域,通过该磁场与太阳风等离子流相互作用产生推动力的一种先进技术。文章介绍了磁动力技术的国内外发展现状、磁帆与等离子体流增强型磁帆的基本原理、技术特点以及在未来深空探测中的潜在应用,为我国未来深空探测任务的工程实施提供一种新的方法。