Microphysics of the Venusian and Martian mantles

The planetary ionospheres around the nonmagnetic planets Mars and Venus are directly exposed to the shocked solar wind. An interaction between the solar wind protons and the ionospheric oxygen takes place in a narrow turbulent region referred to as the plasma mantle. In this letter the microphysics...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 1997-02, Vol.24 (3), p.301-304
Main Authors: Quest, K. B., Shapiro, V. D., Szegö, K., Dobe, Z.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acceleration
Astronomy
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Heating
Ionospheres
magnetospheres
Mantles
Mars
Microphysics
Planetary ionospheres
Planetary, asteroid, and satellite characteristics and properties
Planets, their satellites and rings. Asteroids
Solar system
Solar wind
Trapping
Venus
Wave propagation
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Summary:The planetary ionospheres around the nonmagnetic planets Mars and Venus are directly exposed to the shocked solar wind. An interaction between the solar wind protons and the ionospheric oxygen takes place in a narrow turbulent region referred to as the plasma mantle. In this letter the microphysics of the dayside mantle is investigated numerically using a one‐dimensional hybrid code that retains the inertia of the electron species. It is shown that lower hybrid waves propagating perpendicular to the magnetic field are destabilized. Wave saturation is caused by electrostatic trapping of the proton species, and the saturated amplitudes are shown to be in reasonable agreement with Pioneer‐Venus observations. Oxygen pick‐up and acceleration is found to be dominated by wave effects, resulting in significant ion heating, consistent with Phobos observations.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/96GL03972