Dataset Information

Influence of Magnetic Fields on Precipitating Solar Wind Hydrogen at Mars.

ABSTRACT: Solar wind protons can interact directly with the hydrogen corona of Mars through charge exchange, resulting in energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) able to penetrate deep into the upper atmosphere of Mars. ENAs can undergo multiple charge changing interactions, leading to an observable beam of penetrating protons in the upper atmosphere. We seek to characterize the behavior of these protons in the presence of magnetic fields using data collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft. We find that backscattered penetrating proton flux is enhanced in regions where the magnetic field strength is greater than 200 nT. We also find a strong correlation at CO₂ column densities less than 5.5 × 10¹⁴ cm^-2 between magnetic field strength and the observed backscattered and downward flux. We do not see significant changes in penetrating proton flux with magnetic field strengths on the order of 10 nT.

SUBMITTER: Henderson S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9285465 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Influence of Magnetic Fields on Precipitating Solar Wind Hydrogen at Mars.

Henderson Sarah S Halekas Jasper J Girazian Zach Z Espley Jared J Elrod Meredith M

Geophysical research letters 20220616 12

Solar wind protons can interact directly with the hydrogen corona of Mars through charge exchange, resulting in energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) able to penetrate deep into the upper atmosphere of Mars. ENAs can undergo multiple charge changing interactions, leading to an observable beam of penetrating protons in the upper atmosphere. We seek to characterize the behavior of these protons in the presence of magnetic fields using data collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraf ...[more]

PMID: 35860423

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Project description:Discrete aurora at Mars, characterized by their small spatial scale and tendency to form near strong crustal magnetic fields, are emissions produced by particle precipitation into the Martian upper atmosphere. Since 2014, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN's (MAVEN's) Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) has obtained a large collection of UV discrete aurora observations during its routine periapsis nightside limb scans. Initial analysis of these observations has shown that, near the strongest crustal magnetic fields in the southern hemisphere, the IUVS discrete aurora detection frequency is highly sensitive to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle. However, the role of other solar wind properties in controlling the discrete aurora detection frequency has not yet been determined. In this work, we use the IUVS discrete aurora observations, along with MAVEN observations of the upstream solar wind, to determine how the discrete aurora detection frequency varies with solar wind dynamic pressure, IMF strength, and IMF cone angle. We find that, outside of the strong crustal field region (SCFR) in the southern hemisphere, the aurora detection frequency is relatively insensitive to the IMF orientation, but significantly increases with solar wind dynamic pressure, and moderately increases with IMF strength. Interestingly however, although high solar wind dynamic pressures cause more aurora to form, they have little impact on the brightness of the auroral emissions. Alternatively, inside the SCFR, the detection frequency is only moderately dependent on the solar wind dynamic pressure, and is much more sensitive to the IMF clock and cone angles. In the SCFR, aurora are unlikely to occur when the IMF points near the radial or anti-radial directions when the cone angle (arccos(B x /|B|)) is less than 30° or between 120° and 150°. Together, these results provide the first comprehensive characterization of how upstream solar wind conditions affect the formation of discrete aurora at Mars.

Dataset Information

Influence of Magnetic Fields on Precipitating Solar Wind Hydrogen at Mars.

Publications

Influence of Magnetic Fields on Precipitating Solar Wind Hydrogen at Mars.

Similar Datasets

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