Characterization of Jovian plasma-embedded dust particles

As the data from space missions and laboratories improve, a research domain combining plasmas and charged dust is gaining in prominence. Our solar system provides many natural laboratories such as planetary rings, comet comae and tails, ejecta clouds around moons and asteroids, and Earth's noctilucent clouds for which to closely study plasma-embedded cosmic dust. One natural laboratory to study electromagnetically controlled cosmic dust has been provided by the Jovian dust streams and the data from the instruments which were on board the Galileo spacecraft. Given the prodigious quantity of dust poured into the Jovian magnetosphere by Io and its volcanoes resulting in the dust streams, the possibility of dusty plasma conditions exist. This paper characterizes the main parameters for those interested in studying dust embedded in a plasma with a focus on the Jupiter environment. I show how to distinguish between dust-in-plasma and dusty-plasma and how the Havnes parameter P can be used to support or negate the possibility of collective behavior of the dusty plasma. The result of applying these tools to the Jovian dust streams reveals mostly dust-in-plasma behavior. In the orbits displaying the highest dust stream fluxes, portions of orbits E4, G7, G8, C21 satisfy the minimum requirements for a dusty plasma. However, the P parameter demonstrates that these mild dusty plasma conditions do not lead to collective behavior of the dust stream particles.     

Lidar atmospheric measurements on Mars and Earth

The LIDAR instrument operating from the surface of Mars on the Phoenix Mission measured vertical profiles of atmospheric dust and water ice clouds at temperatures around −65 °C. An equivalent lidar system was utilized for measurements in the atmosphere of Earth where dust and cloud conditions are similar to Mars. Coordinated aircraft in situ sampling provided a verification of lidar measurement and analysis methods and also insight for interpretation of lidar derived optical parameters in terms of the dust and cloud microphysical properties. It was found that the vertical distribution of airborne dust above the Australian desert is quite similar to what is observed in the planetary boundary layer above Mars. Comparison with the in situ sampling is used to demonstrate how the lidar derived optical extinction coefficient is related to the dust particle size distribution. The lidar measurement placed a constraint on the model size distribution that has been used for Mars. Airborne lidar measurements were also conducted to study cirrus clouds that form in the Earth’s atmosphere at a similar temperature and humidity as the clouds observed with the lidar on Mars. Comparison with the in situ sampling provides a method to derive the cloud ice water content (IWC) from the Mars lidar measurements.     

Noctilucent clouds: Simulation studies of their genesis,properties and global influences

The formation, evolution and properties of noctilucent clouds are studied using a timedependent one-dimensional model of ice particles at mesospheric altitudes. The model treats ice crystals, meteoric dust, water vapor and air ionization as fully interactive cloud elements. For ice particles, the microphysical processes of nucleation, condensation, coagulation and sedimentation are included; the crystal habits of ice are also accounted for. Meteoric dust is analyzed in the manner of Hunten et al. (1980). The simulated particle sizes range from 10 Å to 2.6μm. The chemistry of water vapor and the charge balance of the mesosphere are also analyzed in detail.Based on model calculations, including numerous sensitivity tests, several conclusions are reached. Extremely cold mesopause temperatures (<140K) are necessary to form noctilucent clouds; such temperatures only exist at high latitudes in summer. A water vapor concentration of 4–5 ppmv is sufficient to form a visible cloud. However, a subvisible cloud can exist in the presence of only 1 ppmv of H₂O. Ample cloud condensation nuclei are always present in the mesosphere; at very low temperatures, either meteoric dust or hydrated ions can act as cloud nuclei. To be effective, meteoric dust particles must be larger than 10–15 Å in radius. When dust is present, water vapor supersaturations may be held to such low values that ion nucleation is not possible. Ion nucleation can occur, however, in the absence of dust or at extremely low temperatures (<130K). While dust nucleation leads to a small number (<10cm^?3) of large ice particles (>0.05 μm radius) and cloud optical depths (at 550 nm) ～10^?4, ion nucleation generally leads to a large number (～10³cm^?3) of smaller particles and optical depths ～10^?5). However, because calculated nucleation rates in noctilucent clouds are highly uncertain, the predominant nucleus for the clouds (i.e., dust or ions) cannot be unambiguously established. Noctilucent clouds require several hours-up to a day-to materialize. Once formed, they may persist for several days, depending on local meteorological conditions. However, the clouds can disappear suddenly if the air warms by 10–20 K. The environmental conditions which exist at the high-latitude summer mesopause, together with the microphysics of small ice crystals, dictate that particle sizes will be ? 0.1 μm radius. The ice crystals are probably cubic in structure. It is demonstrated that particles of this size and shape can explain the manifestations of noctilucent clouds. Denser clouds are favored by higher water vapor concentrations, more rapid vertical diffusion and persistent upward convection (which can occur at the summer pole). Noctilucent clouds may also condense in the cold “troughs” of gravity wave trains. Such clouds are bright when the particles remain in the troughs for several hours or more; otherwise they are weak or subvisible.Model simulations are compared with a wide variety of noctilucent cloud data. It is shown that the present physical model is consistent with most of the measurements, as well as many previous theoretical results. Ambient noctilucent clouds are found to have a negligible influence on the climate of Earth. Anthropogenic perturbations of the clouds that are forecast for the next few decades are also shown to have insignificant climatological implications.     

The Dust Ejection Induced by a Meteoroid Impact as a Possible Initiator of Dust Devils on Mars: Laboratory Experiment and Numerical Simulation

The results are presented of a preliminary study that aims to validate the hypothesis about the possibility of the formation of a giant dust devil resulting from the interaction of the wind with the dust clouds initiated by the impacts of meter meteoroids on the Martian surface. The laboratory experiment allowed us to examine the dynamics in the wind field of the dust ejection, whose characteristics corresponded qualitatively to the features of a dust ejection induced by the meteoroid impact. It follows from numerical computations, which are validated to some extent by comparison with the results of laboratory simulation, that the wind flowing around a dust column results in a generation of vertical eddy structures. The interaction of these structures with a convective flow, which is formed, for example, as a result of the solar heating of dusty regions, can cause the development of a dust devil.     

Aeolian regime of the surface of Venus

Recent probes of the planet Venus reveal a probable surface temperature exceeding 700K and a pressure exceeding 100 atm. A very dusty lower atmosphere may exist which is composed of micron-sized particles kept airborne by mild turbulence and a gentle circulation of deep adiabatic currents. A study of surface conditions responsible for generation and persistence of surface dust clouds is of fundamental importance in the radiative and dynamic properties of the atmosphere. Also spurious radar echoes may be caused by suspended particulate matter, thus explaining the high relief reported by radar altimeters.Equations describing transportation and deposition of dust and sand have been solved for the surface conditions of Venus. It is concluded that the minimum wind velocity for initiating grain movement is about one order of magnitude smaller than on Earth. In addition, this minimum wind velocity occurs for smaller particles on Venus than on Earth. Once the particles are raised, they can be maintained aloft for longer periods of time and over a larger size range on Venus.Surface structures such as ripples evolved from aeolian deposition are likely to be of smaller vertical dimensions but larger horizontally when compared with equivalent structures on Earth.     

Quasi-periodic dust events in the summertime south polar region of Mars

A Hovmöller diagram analysis of the dust optical depth measured by the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer shows the occurrence of quasi-periodic westwardly-propagating disturbances with timescales of 10-20 sols during summer in the south polar region of Mars. Dust clouds emerge repeatedly around the region with a latitude of around 70-80°S and a longitude of 240-300°E, move westward at speeds of 3-6 m s⁻¹, reach the region with a longitude of 60-120°E, and finally disappear. This longitude range coincides with elevated terrains in the south polar region, and in this region an increase of dust optical depth encircling the south pole is also observed. This implies that the quasi-periodic dust events will contribute to the enhancement of the atmospheric dust loading in this region. These dust events might be related to baroclinic instability caused by the thermal contrast across the CO₂ cap edge, or the horizontal advection or vertical convection with radiative-dynamical feedback. The westward movement of the dust clouds suggests steady westward winds blowing in the near-surface layer, where the quasi-periodic dust lifting is expected to occur. Such a westward cap-edge flow will be created by the Coriolis force acting on the flow from the ice side to the regolith side.     

Kinetic Monte Carlo method for simulating astrochemical kinetics: Hydrogen chemistry in diffuse clouds

We perform numerical simulations of the molecular hydrogen production on the surface of interstellar dust grains and its dissociation by the ultraviolet background in conditions typical for the interstellar medium. The kinetic version of the Monte Carlo method is used for the modeling of the catalytic chemical reactions on the surface of the dust fraction and in the surrounding medium. Our simulations show the importance of the interstellar dust particles for hydrogen chemistry in diffuse molecular clouds.     

Propagation of cylindrical acoustic waves in dusty plasma with positive dust

The hydrodynamic equations of positive and negative dust, Boltzmann electron and ion density distribution, and Poisson equation are used along with the reductive perturbation method to derive a cylindrical Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (CKP) equation. G′/G expansion method is used to obtain a new class of solutions. At certain condition, the solutions degenerate to solitary wave solutions. The effects of the physical parameters on the characteristics of solitary pulses are examined. The results give elucidation of the properties of dust acoustic solitary pulses in multicomponent space plasmas, particularly in interstellar dust clouds in a galactic disk and astrophysical plasma systems.     

Dust transport in photoelectron layers and the formation of dust ponds on Eros

We investigate the electrostatic transport of charged dust in the photoelectron layer over the dayside surface of an asteroid. Micron-sized dust particles may be levitated above the surface in the photoelectron layer. Horizontal transport within the layer can then lead to net deposition of dust into shadowed regions where the electric field due to the photoelectron layer disappears. We apply a 2D numerical model simulating charged dust dynamics in the near-surface daytime plasma environment of Asteroid 433 Eros to the formation of dust deposits in craters. We find that dust tends to collect in craters and regions of shadow. This electrostatic dust transport mechanism may contribute to the formation of smooth dust ponds observed by the NEAR-Shoemaker spacecraft at Eros. The size distribution of transported dust depends on the particle density and work function, and the work function of the surface and solar wind electron temperature and density. With reasonable values for these parameters, μm-sized and smaller particles are levitated at Eros. Micrometeoroid bombardment is not a sufficient source mechanism for electrostatic transport to create the Eros dust ponds. Laboratory measurements of dust in a plasma sheath show that dust launched off the surface by direct electrostatic levitation can provide a sufficient source for transport to produce the observed Eros ponds.     

Water clouds and dust aerosols observations with PFS MEX at Mars

Observations of water ice clouds and dust are among the main scientific goals of the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS), a payload instrument of the European Mars Express mission. We report some results, obtained in three orbits: 37, 41 and 68. The temperature profile, and dust and water ice cloud opacities are retrieved from the thermal infrared (long-wavelength channel of PFS) in a self-consistent way using the same spectrum. Orographic ice clouds are identified above Olympus (orbit 37) and Ascraeus Mons (orbit 68). Both volcanoes were observed near noon at Ls=337° and 342°, respectively. The effective radius of ice particles is preliminary estimated as 1-3 μm, changing along the flanks. The corresponding visual opacity changes in the interval 0.2-0.4 above Olympus and 0.1-0.6 above Ascraeus Mons. In the case of Ascraeus Mons, the ice clouds were observed mainly above the Southern flank of the volcano with maximum opacity near the summit. In the case of Olympus, the clouds were found above both sides of the top. A different type of ice cloud is observed at latitudes above 50°N (orbit 68) in the polar hood: the effective particle radius is estimated to be 4 μm. Below the 1 mb level an inversion in the temperature profiles is found with maximum temperature at around 0.6 mb. Along orbit 68 it appears above Alba Patera, then it increases to the north and decreases above the CO₂ polar cap. Beginning from latitude 20°S above Tharsis (orbit 68), the ice clouds and dust contribute equally to the spectral shape. Further on, the ice clouds are found everywhere along orbit 68 up to the Northern polar cap, except the areas between the Northern flank of Ascraeus Mons (below 10 km) and the edge of Alba Patera. Orbit 41 is shifted from the orbit 68 by roughly 180° longitude and passes through Hellas. Ice clouds are not visible in this orbit at latitudes below 80°S. The dust opacity is anticorrelated with the surface altitude. From 70°S to 25°N latitude the vertical dust distribution follows an exponential law with a scale height of 11.5±0.5 km, which corresponds to the gaseous scale height near noon and indicates a well-mixed condition. The 9 μm dust opacity, reduced to zero surface altitude, is found to be 0.25±0.05, which corresponds to a visual opacity of 0.5-0.7 (depending on the particle size).     

Mars: Topographic control of clouds, 1907–1973

Mariner 9 high-resolution photos and topographic information were used to make a topographic analysis of “blue” and “red” cloud positions reported over a 66-year period in Lowell Observatory records. A sample of 77 “blue” cloud sites lay preferentially at the highest Martian elevations; 60% centered precisely on the seven major volcanic mountain peaks (unknown when the clouds were observed); another 16% lay on substantial slopes or contacts between cratered terrain and lower plains. The median altitude of blue cloud sites was 2.1 km above the global topographic median. These results agree with other evidence that most Earth-detected blue clouds are orographic uplift clouds, composed of condensates. Over half of 131 sporadic yellowish or red clouds were associated with blue clouds or volcanoes, and thus probably did not represent dust storm phenomena, contrary to a commonly held belief. Of 88 “possible dust clouds” (chosen by additional criteria), about two-thirds occur at borders between light and dark areas, in the light regions. These sites may have thin veneers of dust, and current depositional or denudational activity. Median altitude of “possible dust cloud” sites was 0.5 km below the global topographic median. Major dust storms begin in a few “core areas,” two of which associate with major basins Hellas and Isidis, probable reservoirs of mobile dust; but exact topographic control and causes of dust storms are unclear.     

The significance of bright spots observed during the 1971 Martian dust storm

Mariner 9 photographs of the southern hemisphere of Mars taken during the 1971 planet-wide dust storm display circular bright spots at a time when all near-surface features were totally obscured. Correlating the positions and diameters of these spots with topography shows that they correspond to craters. About half of all the large craters in thestudy area were brightened. The associated craters are large and flat-floored, have significant rim uplift, and contain dark splotches on their floors. The depth/diameter relationship of the bright spot craters is comparable to that of a planet-wide sample. Depth may not be important in selectively brightening certain craters. The visibility of bright spots in A-camera photographs is strongly dependent on the wavelength of the filter used during exposure. It is proposed that bright spots result from the multiple scattering of incident light in dust clouds entrained within craters during dust storms. The appearance of the dust clouds is a function of the availability of a dust supply and, perhaps, air turbulence generated by winds flowing over upraised rims and rough crater floors. Bright spots persist during the final stage of the planet-wide dust storm. If bright spots are dust clouds, this persistence demonstrates that crater interiors are the last regions of clearing.     

Impact-generated dust clouds around planetary satellites: model versus Galileo data

This paper focuses on tenuous dust clouds of Jupiter's Galilean moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. In a companion paper (Srem?evi? et al., Planet. Space Sci. 51 (2003) 455-471) an analytical model of impact-generated ejecta dust clouds surrounding planetary satellites has been developed. The main aim of the model is to predict the asymmetries in the dust clouds which may arise from the orbital motion of the parent body through a field of impactors. The Galileo dust detector data from flybys at Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are compatible with the model, assuming projectiles to be interplanetary micrometeoroids. The analysis of the data suggests that two interplanetary impactor populations are most likely the source of the measured dust clouds: impactors with isotropically distributed velocities and micrometeoroids in retrograde orbits. Other impactor populations, namely those originating in the Jovian system, or interplanetary projectiles with low orbital eccentricities and inclinations, or interstellar stream particles, can be ruled out by the statistical analysis of the data. The data analysis also suggests that the mean ejecta velocity angle to the normal at the satellite surface is around 30°, which is in agreement with laboratory studies of the hypervelocity impacts.     

Dust transport near electron beam impact and shadow boundaries

When the moon enters the plasma sheet of the earth, high energy electron fluxes are incident upon the lunar surface. Some regions are in the shadow of these fluxes due to topographic features. Large electric fields were found at similar shadow boundaries created by the electron beams incident upon an obstacle in the laboratory. Potentials on the beam-illuminated surface follow beam energies and were negative relative to potentials on the shadowed surface. Charged dust particles in the beam-illuminated region were observed to move into the shadow due to these electric fields. The oblique incidence of the electron fluxes upon craters can lead to a portion of the crater surface in the beam-illumination and another portion in the shadow. Dust particles on the slopes of the craters can thus experience large electric fields and transport downhill to fill the bottom of the craters. This mechanism may contribute to the formation of dust ponds observed by the NEAR-Shoemaker spacecraft at Eros, and might be at work on the lunar surface as well. In the laboratory, we used electron fluxes with energies up to 90 eV to bombard an insulating half-pipe. An angle of incidence was chosen so that the impact occurred on farside of the slope and left the bottom and the nearside slope in the shadow. Dust particles on the beam-illuminated slope moved down along the surface toward the bottom of the half-pipe and hopped to the bottom as well, while particles on the shadowed slope remained at rest.     

Some Physical Processes in Dusty Plasmas

Ionized gases containing fine (μm to sub-μm sized) charged dust grains, referred to as dusty plasmas, occur in diverse cosmic and laboratory environments. Dust occurs in many space and astrophysical environments, including planetary rings, comets, the Earth's ionosphere, and interstellar molecular clouds. Dust also occurs in laboratory plasmas, including processing plasmas, and crystallized dusty plasmas. Charged dust can lead to various effects in a plasma. In this review, some physical processes in dusty plasmas are discussed, with an emphasis on applications to dusty plasmas in space. This includes theoretical work on several wave instabilities, the role of dust as an electron source, and Coulomb crystals of positively charged dust. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Comparison of 13CO line and far-infrared continuum emission as a diagnostic of dust and molecular gas physical conditions – I. Motivation and modelling

Determining temperatures in molecular clouds from ratios of CO rotational lines or from ratios of continuum emission in different wavelength bands suffers from reduced temperature sensitivity in the high-temperature limit. In theory, the ratio of far-infrared (FIR), submillimetre or millimetre continuum to that of a ¹³CO (or C¹⁸O) rotational line can place reliable upper limits on the temperature of the dust and molecular gas. Consequently, FIR continuum data from the COBE /Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) instrument and Nagoya 4-m  ¹³CO  J = 1 → 0  spectral line data were used to plot  240 μm/¹³CO  J = 1 → 0  intensity ratios against 140/240 μm dust colour temperatures, allowing us to constrain the multiparsec-scale physical conditions in the Orion A and B molecular clouds.
The best-fitting models to the Orion clouds consist of two components: a component near the surface of the clouds that is heated primarily by a very large scale (i.e. ∼1 kpc) interstellar radiation field and a component deeper within the clouds. The former has a fixed temperature and the latter has a range of temperatures that vary from one sightline to another. The models require a dust–gas temperature difference of 0 ± 2 K and suggest that 40–50 per cent of the Orion clouds are in the form of dust and gas with temperatures between 3 and 10 K. The implications are discussed in detail in later papers and include stronger dust–gas thermal coupling and higher Galactic-scale molecular gas temperatures than are usually accepted, and an improved explanation for the N (H₂)/ I (CO) conversion factor. It is emphasized that these results are preliminary and require confirmation by independent observations and methods.     

The measurements of sky brightness on lunokhod-2

An astrophotometer was used for measurements of lunar sky brightness in visible and ultraviolet range during day and night. The data obtained showed unexpectedly high values of brightness during the lunar day in the visible region. From measurements during lunar ‘twilight’ conditions and from the dependence of excessive flux on cosZ⊙ we have concluded that the effect is due to scattering of solar radiation by dust particles above the surface of the Moon. Some evidence in favour of dust clouds around the Moon is presented.     

Dynamical behavior of size-graded dust grains levitated in rotating magnetized astroplasmas

Our purpose is to examine the formation of different sheaths in rotating astroplasmas embedded in an ambient magnetic field. Sequel to our recent work (Das and Chakraborty in Astrophys. Space Sci., 2011) we remodeled our present study with the view to finding of robust sheath over the Earth’s Moon along with the formation of dust clouds therein. Based on using the pseudopotential analysis, a modified Sagdeev potential equation has been derived, which, in turns, quantifies the interaction of Coriolis force and magnetic field and to derive the different natures of sheath and dust atmosphere. The application of this result to the input numeric data of the lunar environment and dynamical behaviors of dust levitation has been studied. Our study finds that the dust particles having a spatial segregation within the sheath region form dust clouds in spaces.     

The interstellar medium and the glacial eras during the Pleistocene

We study the hypothetical conditions for interstellar clouds dense enough to produce glaciations on the Earth. A simple differential formula (adequate to give lower limits to dust absorption) is used to relate mean temperatures and visual albedos today and during the glacial eras. For this, the geological and oceanographical records of the Pleistocene are used. The temperature decays are associated to an absorption of the solar light in visual magnitudes m _v. As the effective albedo, integrated in all wavelengths are lower than the corresponding visual value, the adoption of a visual scale leads to an underestimation of the actual amount of dust. A minimum dust absorption m _v= 0.02 mag, necessary to start a glacial era is then obtained. This should mean interstellar clouds with dust densities of 4100 mag. pc ^-1 and sizes of 0.3 pc or more, taking into account the time span of the glacial eras and the mean velocity of the Sun with respect to the LSR. Such clouds were never observed and are uncompatible with what is known from the interstellar medium: the glaciation clouds should be clouds with densities 50–100 times above the tolerable value for gravitational stability; on the other hand, the necessary number of clouds per cubic parsec should produce the collapse of the galactic disc as a whole. From a comparative analysis of the temperatures of the other planets it seems to be that the actual thermal temperatures in their surfaces depend less than one expects from the visual albedos. From this it is raised the suspicion that the cause of the ice ages was the Sun itself.