It is widely accepted that diffusive shock acceleration is an important process in the heliosphere, in particular in producing
the energetic particles associated with interplanetary shocks driven by coronal mass ejections. In its simplest formulation
shock acceleration is expected to accelerate ions with higher mass to charge ratios less efficiently than those with lower
mass to charge. Thus it is anticipated that the Fe/O ratio in shock-accelerated ion populations will decrease with increasing
energy above some energy. We examine the circumstances of five interplanetary shocks that have been reported to have associated
populations in which Fe/O increases with increasing energy. In each event, the situation is complex, with particle contributions
from other sources in addition to the shock. Furthermore, we show that the Fe/O ratio in shock-accelerated ions can decrease
even when the shock is traveling through an Fe-rich ambient ion population. Thus, although shock acceleration of an Fe-rich
suprathermal population has been proposed to explain large Fe-rich solar particle events, we find no support for this proposal
in these observations. 相似文献
The Genesis mission returned samples of solar wind to Earth in September 2004 for ground-based analyses of solar-wind composition,
particularly for isotope ratios. Substrates, consisting mostly of high-purity semiconductor materials, were exposed to the
solar wind at L1 from December 2001 to April 2004. In addition to a bulk sample of the solar wind, separate samples of coronal
hole (CH), interstream (IS), and coronal mass ejection material were obtained. Although many substrates were broken upon landing
due to the failure to deploy the parachute, a number of results have been obtained, and most of the primary science objectives
will likely be met. These objectives include He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe isotope ratios in the bulk solar wind and in different
solar-wind regimes, and 15N/14N and 18O/17O/16O to high precision. The greatest successes to date have been with the noble gases. Light noble gases from bulk solar wind
and separate solar-wind regime samples have now been analyzed. Helium results show clear evidence of isotopic fractionation
between CH and IS samples, consistent with simplistic Coulomb drag theory predictions of fractionation between the photosphere
and different solar-wind regimes, though fractionation by wave heating is also a possible explanation. Neon results from closed
system stepped etching of bulk metallic glass have revealed the nature of isotopic fractionation as a function of depth, which
in lunar samples have for years deceptively suggested the presence of an additional, energetic component in solar wind trapped
in lunar grains and meteorites. Isotope ratios of the heavy noble gases, nitrogen, and oxygen are in the process of being
measured. 相似文献
Mariner 10 measurements proved the existence of a large-scale internal magnetic field on Mercury. The observed field amplitude,
however, is too weak to be compatible with typical convective planetary dynamos. The Lorentz force based on an extrapolation
of Mariner 10 data to the dynamo region is 10−4 times smaller than the Coriolis force. This is at odds with the idea that planetary dynamos are thought to work in the so-called
magnetostrophic regime, where Coriolis force and Lorentz force should be of comparable magnitude. Recent convective dynamo
simulations reviewed here seem to resolve this caveat. We show that the available convective power indeed suffices to drive
a magnetostrophic dynamo even when the heat flow though Mercury’s core–mantle boundary is subadiabatic, as suggested by thermal
evolution models. Two possible causes are analyzed that could explain why the observations do not reflect a stronger internal
field. First, toroidal magnetic fields can be strong but are confined to the conductive core, and second, the observations
do not resolve potentially strong small-scale contributions. We review different dynamo simulations that promote either or
both effects by (1) strongly driving convection, (2) assuming a particularly small inner core, or (3) assuming a very large
inner core. These models still fall somewhat short of explaining the low amplitude of Mariner 10 observations, but the incorporation
of an additional effect helps to reach this goal: The subadiabatic heat flow through Mercury’s core–mantle boundary may cause
the outer part of the core to be stably stratified, which would largely exclude convective motions in this region. The magnetic
field, which is small scale, strong, and very time dependent in the lower convective part of the core, must diffuse through
the stagnant layer. Here, the electromagnetic skin effect filters out the more rapidly varying high-order contributions and
mainly leaves behind the weaker and slower varying dipole and quadrupole components (Christensen in Nature 444:1056–1058,
2006). Messenger and BepiColombo data will allow us to discriminate between the various models in terms of the magnetic fields
spatial structure, its degree of axisymmetry, and its secular variation. 相似文献
Mercury is a very difficult planet to observe from the Earth, and space missions that target Mercury are essential for a comprehensive
understanding of the planet. At the same time, it is also difficult to orbit because it is deep inside the Sun’s gravitational
well. Only one mission has visited Mercury; that was Mariner 10 in the 1970s. This paper provides a brief history of Mariner
10 and the numerous imaginative but unsuccessful mission proposals since the 1970s for another Mercury mission. In the late
1990s, two missions—MESSENGER and BepiColombo—received the go-ahead; MESSENGER is on its way to its first encounter with Mercury
in January 2008. The history, scientific objectives, mission designs, and payloads of both these missions are described in
detail. 相似文献
In May of 2011, NASA selected the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) asteroid sample return mission as the third mission in the New Frontiers program. The other two New Frontiers missions are New Horizons, which explored Pluto during a flyby in July 2015 and is on its way for a flyby of Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 on January 1, 2019, and Juno, an orbiting mission that is studying the origin, evolution, and internal structure of Jupiter. The spacecraft departed for near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 evolved expendable launch vehicle at 7:05 p.m. EDT on September 8, 2016, on a seven-year journey to return samples from Bennu. The spacecraft is on an outbound-cruise trajectory that will result in a rendezvous with Bennu in November 2018. The science instruments on the spacecraft will survey Bennu to measure its physical, geological, and chemical properties, and the team will use these data to select a site on the surface to collect at least 60 g of asteroid regolith. The team will also analyze the remote-sensing data to perform a detailed study of the sample site for context, assess Bennu’s resource potential, refine estimates of its impact probability with Earth, and provide ground-truth data for the extensive astronomical data set collected on this asteroid. The spacecraft will leave Bennu in 2021 and return the sample to the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) on September 24, 2023.
Both heliophysics and planetary physics seek to understand the complex nature of the solar wind’s interaction with solar system obstacles like Earth’s magnetosphere, the ionospheres of Venus and Mars, and comets. Studies with this objective are frequently conducted with the help of single or multipoint in situ electromagnetic field and particle observations, guided by the predictions of both local and global numerical simulations, and placed in context by observations from far and extreme ultraviolet (FUV, EUV), hard X-ray, and energetic neutral atom imagers (ENA). Each proposed interaction mechanism (e.g., steady or transient magnetic reconnection, local or global magnetic reconnection, ion pick-up, or the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability) generates diagnostic plasma density structures. The significance of each mechanism to the overall interaction (as measured in terms of atmospheric/ionospheric loss at comets, Venus, and Mars or global magnetospheric/ionospheric convection at Earth) remains to be determined but can be evaluated on the basis of how often the density signatures that it generates are observed as a function of solar wind conditions. This paper reviews efforts to image the diagnostic plasma density structures in the soft (low energy, 0.1–2.0 keV) X-rays produced when high charge state solar wind ions exchange electrons with the exospheric neutrals surrounding solar system obstacles.The introduction notes that theory, local, and global simulations predict the characteristics of plasma boundaries such the bow shock and magnetopause (including location, density gradient, and motion) and regions such as the magnetosheath (including density and width) as a function of location, solar wind conditions, and the particular mechanism operating. In situ measurements confirm the existence of time- and spatial-dependent plasma density structures like the bow shock, magnetosheath, and magnetopause/ionopause at Venus, Mars, comets, and the Earth. However, in situ measurements rarely suffice to determine the global extent of these density structures or their global variation as a function of solar wind conditions, except in the form of empirical studies based on observations from many different times and solar wind conditions. Remote sensing observations provide global information about auroral ovals (FUV and hard X-ray), the terrestrial plasmasphere (EUV), and the terrestrial ring current (ENA). ENA instruments with low energy thresholds (\(\sim1~\mbox{keV}\)) have recently been used to obtain important information concerning the magnetosheaths of Venus, Mars, and the Earth. Recent technological developments make these magnetosheaths valuable potential targets for high-cadence wide-field-of-view soft X-ray imagers.Section 2 describes proposed dayside interaction mechanisms, including reconnection, the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and other processes in greater detail with an emphasis on the plasma density structures that they generate. It focuses upon the questions that remain as yet unanswered, such as the significance of each proposed interaction mode, which can be determined from its occurrence pattern as a function of location and solar wind conditions. Section 3 outlines the physics underlying the charge exchange generation of soft X-rays. Section 4 lists the background sources (helium focusing cone, planetary, and cosmic) of soft X-rays from which the charge exchange emissions generated by solar wind exchange must be distinguished. With the help of simulations employing state-of-the-art magnetohydrodynamic models for the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction, models for Earth’s exosphere, and knowledge concerning these background emissions, Sect. 5 demonstrates that boundaries and regions such as the bow shock, magnetosheath, magnetopause, and cusps can readily be identified in images of charge exchange emissions. Section 6 reviews observations by (generally narrow) field of view (FOV) astrophysical telescopes that confirm the presence of these emissions at the intensities predicted by the simulations. Section 7 describes the design of a notional wide FOV “lobster-eye” telescope capable of imaging the global interactions and shows how it might be used to extract information concerning the global interaction of the solar wind with solar system obstacles. The conclusion outlines prospects for missions employing such wide FOV imagers. 相似文献
Hard X-ray balloon altitude measurements with a 1600 cm2 phoswich array are described. Data from observations on Sco X-1, GX1+4, GX5−1, Nova Oph. 1977, SMC X-1, SS433, IC 4329A and MR 2251-178 are presented. The role of Comptonisation in X-ray production for Sco X-1 and GX1+4 is discussed. 相似文献