Effects of Magnetic Turbulence on the Dynamics of Pickup Ions in the Ionosheath of Mars
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Resumen
We study some of the effects that magnetic turbulent fluctuations have on the dynamics of pickup O+ ions in the magnetic polar regions of the Mars ionosheath. In particular we study their effect on the bulk velocity profiles of ions as a function of altitude over the magnetic poles, in order to compare them with recent Mars Express data; that indicate that their average velocity is very low and essentially in the anti-sunward direction. We find that, while magnetic field fluctuations do give rise to deviations from simple E × B-drift gyromotion, even fluctuation amplitudes much greater than those of in situ measurements are not able to reproduce the vertical velocity profile of O+ ions. We conclude that other physical mechanisms, different from a pure charged particle dynamics, are acting on pickup ions at the Martian terminator. A possibility is a viscous-like interaction between the Solar Wind and the Martian ionosphere at low altitudes.
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Aceves, H., Reyes-Ruiz, M., & Chavez, C. E. (2012). Effects of Magnetic Turbulence on the Dynamics of Pickup Ions in the Ionosheath of Mars. Revista Mexicana De Astronomía Y Astrofísica, 48(1), 137–148. Recuperado a partir de https://journals.unam.mx/index.php/revmexaa/article/view/31419