Changes in the Martian atmosphere induced by auroral electron precipitation

Typical auroral events in the Martian atmosphere, such as discrete and diffuse auroral emissions detected by UV spectrometers onboard ESA Mars Express and NASA MAVEN, are investigated. Auroral electron kinetic energy distribution functions and energy spectra of the upward and downward electron fluxes are obtained by electron transport calculations using the kinetic Monte Carlo model. These characteristics of auroral electron fluxes make it possible to calculate both the precipitation-induced changes in the atmosphere and the observed manifestations of auroral events on Mars. In particular, intensities of discrete and diffuse auroral emissions in the UV and visible wavelength ranges (Soret et al., 2016; Bisikalo et al., 2017; Gérard et al., 2017). For these conditions of auroral events, the analysis is carried out, and the contribution of the fluxes of precipitating electrons to the heating and ionization of the Martian atmosphere is estimated. Numerical calculations show that in the case of discrete auroral events the effect of the residual crustal magnetic field leads to a significant increase in the upward fluxes of electrons, which causes a decrease in the rates of heating and ionization of the atmospheric gas in comparison with the calculations without taking into account the residual magnetic field. It is shown that all the above-mentioned impact factors of auroral electron precipitation processes should be taken into account both in the photochemical models of the Martian atmosphere and in the interpretation of observations of the chemical composition and its variations using the ACS instrument onboard ExoMars.     

High temporal and spatial resolution observations of low energy electrons by a mother-daughter rocket in the vicinity of two quiescent auroral arcs

Low energy precipitated electrons have been measured with high time resolution through an auroral display by a series of high geometrical factor particle counters on a ‘mother-daughter’ sounding rocket, launched during wintertime near 2100 LT from Andenes, Norway.The observations show that the 0·5–3 keV electron fluxes are anisotropically distributed, with a maximum in a direction parallel to the local geomagnetic field vector at all latitudes covered by the rocket, except within the visual auroral forms where the pitch-angle distributions are isotropic or slightly peaked in a direction normal to the geomagnetic field. The 1 and 3 keV electron fluxes are weakly anticorrelated in the vicinity of the arcs, where also the 3 keV electron flux displays a more structured variation than the 0.5 and 1 keV electron fluxes.     

Field-aligned current reversals and fine structure in a dayside auroral arc

A serendipitous event is reported in which the MAGSAT satellite intercepted an auroral arc over Svalbard, Norway where an all-sky television camera, a photographic camera and a meridian scanning photometer were making continuous measurements. The high time resolution of the optical measurements and the high spatial resolution of the magnetometer data are combined to investigate the relationship between the fine structure in the field-aligned current reversals and the temporal and spatial morphology of the auroral structure. Meridian scans of several optical emissions in the auroral arc, which had its upper portion in sunlight, are utilized to derive the total energy input and the intensity of the precipitating energetic electrons. The MAGSAT satellite apparently intercepted a fold within an extended intense upward current sheet. The current carried by the energetic electrons responsible for the optical aurora is found to be smaller than the field-aligned current derived from the magnetic perturbations, implying that there may be a large flux of low energy particles in this arc. Within the spatial-temporal constraints of this event there is a suggestion that the rayed structure is related to the field-aligned current reversals.     

Field-aligned suprathermal electron fluxes below 270 km in the auroral zone

Observations are reported of field aligned etectron fluxes in the energy range 50–500 eV at altitudes below 270 km from two rocket flights in the auroral zone. The regions of field aligned suprathermal electrons occurred in bursts of a few seconds duration, and in some instances the energy of the peak field aligned flux was in the range 100–500 eV. Theoretical calculations of the pitch angle distribution were made using the Monte Carlo technique for two model atmospheres having exospheric temperatures of 750 and 1500 K bracketing the expected auroral zone exospheric temperature. The calculations were made for the case of incident field aligned suprathermal fluxes with no local parallel electric field and also for the case of a local constant parallel electric field. Comparison of theoretical and experimental pitch angle distributions showed that in one case at 270 km a parallel electric field of 1–2 mV/m fitted the data whereas another burst at 210 km required a parallel electric field of about 10 mV/m to produce a field aligned distribution of 230 eV electrons as pronounced as was observed. Furthermore in this latter case the lack of strong field alignment at 500 eV pointed to localisation of the parallel electric field to an altitude range of 20–30 km about the rocket altitude.     

On the Dynamics of the Jovian Ionosphere and Thermosphere: III. The Modelling of Auroral Conductivity

Recent work has been concerned with calculating the three-dimensional ion concentrations and Pedersen and Hall conductivities within the auroral region of Jupiter for varying conditions of incident electron precipitation. Using the jovian ionospheric model, we present results that show the auroral ionospheric response to changing the incoming flux of precipitating electrons (for constant initial energy) and also the response to changing the initial energy (for both constant flux and constant energy flux). The results show that, for expected energy fluxes of precipitating particles, the average auroral integrated Pedersen conductivity attains values in excess of 1 mho. In addition, it is shown that electrons with an initial energy of around 60 keV are particularly effective at generating auroral conductivity: Particles of this energy penetrate most effectively to the layer of the jovian ionosphere at which the auroral conductivity is at a maximum.     

The polar substorm and electron ‘islands’ in the Earth's magnetic tail

The behaviour of energetic electrons in the distant magnetosphere near the midnight meridian during polar substorms has been studied for the period March 5th–April 4th, 1965, using data from two end window Geiger counters flown on the IMP 2 satellite (apogee 15.8 Earth radii) and magnetic records from a chain of auroral zone stations around the world at magnetic latitudes equivalent to L = 7.4 ± 2.0.

When the satellite was in the distant radiation zone or in the plasma sheet which extends down the Earth's magnetic tail, sudden decreases in the horizontal magnetic field component at ground stations near the midnight meridian (negative magnetic bays) were followed by sudden increases in 40 keV electron fluxes (electron islands) at the satellite. When the satellite was at high latitudes in the magnetic tail ‘bays’ often were not followed by ‘islands.’ When the satellite was near the centre of the plasma sheet, energetic electron fluxes were observed even during magnetically quiet periods. The time delay between the sharp onset of magnetic bays in the auroral zone and the corresponding rapid increase in energetic electron intensity at the satellite, typically some tens of minutes, was least when the satellite was close to the Earth and increased with its increasing radial distance from the Earth. The delay was also a function of distance of the satellite from the centre of the plasma sheet, and of the magnitude of the intensity increase (smaller delays for larger intensity increases). We deduce that the disturbance producing the magnetic bays and associated particle acceleration originates fairly deep in the magnetosphere and propagates outward to higher L values, and down the plasma sheet in the Earth's magnetic tail on the dark side of the Earth. It is unlikely that the accelerated electrons are themselves drifting away from the Earth, because the apparent velocity with which the islands move away from the Earth decreases with increasing distance from the Earth.

It is suggested that the polar substorm and the associated particle acceleration are part of an impulsive ejection mechanism of magnetospheric energy into the ionosphere, rather than an impulsive injection mechanism of solar wind energy into the magnetosphere.     

Opportunities for X-ray remote sensing at Mercury

Mercury is the little known innermost terrestrial planet. A number of significant questions remain unanswered. We describe areas in which a compact imaging X-ray spectrometer could make a valuable contribution. It can provide high quality spectroscopic analysis of Mercury, using the fluorescence technique. A solar monitor is required to provide the calibration of the illumination necessary to produce a global map of absolute Hermean elemental abundances. In the case of Mercury studies of the surface and the magnetosphere form a single linked problem. The intense level of the radiation observed by Mariner 10 suggests that the auroral zone, where the energetic radiation interacts with the surface, is a potential intense source of X-rays. We estimate the fluxes. The solar wind may also contribute to X-ray generation, if it can reach the surface during highly excited periods. We describe briefly the instrument characteristics that could produce these observations.     

Plasma sheet particle precipitation: A kinetic model

Ionospheric and plasma sheet particle densities, fluxes and bulk velocities along an auroral magnetic field line have been calculated for an ion-exosphere model. It is shown that such a collisionless model accounts for many features observed above the auroral regions. Except for very strong plasma sheet electron precipitation, no large potential difference is needed along the magnetic field lines to account for the usual proton and electron fluxes, their pitch angle distributions, and auroral field aligned currents.     

The consequences of high latitude particle precipitation on global thermospheric dynamics

A previous comparison of experimental measurements of thermospheric winds with simulations using a global self-consistent three-dimensional time-dependent model confirmed a necessity for a high latitude source of energy and momentum acting in addition to solar u.v. and e.u.v. heating. During quiet geomagnetic conditions, the convective electric field over the polar cap and auroral oval seemed able to provide adequate momentum input to explain the thermospheric wind distribution observed in these locations. However, it seems unable to provide adequate heating, by the Joule mechanism, to complete the energy budget of the thermosphere and, more importantly, unable to provide the high latitude input required to explain mean meridional winds at mid-latitudes. In this paper we examine the effects of low energy particle precipitation on thermospheric dynamics and energy budget. Modest fluxes over the polar cap and auroral oval, of the order of 0.4 erg cm ⁻²/s, are consistent with satellite observations of the particles themselves and with photometer observations of the OI and OII airglow emissions. Such particle fluxes, originating in the dayside magnetosheath cusp region and in the nightside central plasma sheet, heat the thermosphere and modify mean meridional winds at mid-latitudes without enhancing the OI 557.7 line, or the ionization of the lower thermosphere (and thus enhancing the auroral electrojets), neither of which would be consistent with observations during quiet geomagnetic conditions.     

Rocket observations of electron spectral and angular characteristics in an “inverted V” event

Energy spectra and pitch angle distributions of auroral electrons in the energy range 2.5–11 keV observed on a rocket flight launched from Andøya on 13 November 1970 are presented. Strong rapidly fluctuating fluxes during the first part of the flight were succeeded by fluxes below or close to the level of detectability. Before the rocket passed through the northern precipitation boundary two spectral events of “inverted V” character occurred. Both events were associated with field aligned pitch angle distributions. While anisotropies with the flux peaked near 0° were in general associated with the spectral peak energy, isotropy over the upper hemisphere was the dominant distribution for other energies. The observations made during these events provide strong support for the theory of a parallel potential drop close to the ionosphere as an important accelerating mechanism for auroral electrons in connection with “inverted V” events.     

Auroral zone effects on hydrogen geocorona structure and variability

The instantaneous structure of planetary exospheres is determined by the time history of energy dissipation, chemical, and transport processes operative during a prior time interval set by intrinsic atmospheric time scales. The complex combination of diurnal and magnetospheric activity modulations imposed on the Earth's upper atmosphere no doubt produce an equally complex response, especially in hydrogen, which escapes continuously at exospheric temperatures. Vidal-Madjar and Thomas (1978) have discussed some of the persistent large scale structure which is evident in satellite ultraviolet observations of hydrogen, noting in particular a depletion at high latitudes which is further discussed by Thomas and Vidal-Madjar (1978). The latter authors discussed various causes of the H density depletion, including local neutral temperature enhancements and enhanced escape rates due to polar wind H⁺ plasma flow or high latitude ion heating followed by charge exchange. We have reexamined the enhancement of neutral escape by plasma effects including the recently observed phenomenon of low altitude transverse ion acceleration. We find that, while significant fluxes of neutral H should be produced by this phenomenon in the auroral zone, this process is probably insufficient to account for the observed polar depletion. Instead, the recent exospheric temperature measurements from the Dynamics Explorer-2 spacecraft suggest that neutral heating in and near the high latitude cusp may be the major contributor to depleted atomic hydrogen densities at high latitudes.     

Jovian proton Aurora

The planet Jupiter possesses a magnetic field and is surrounded by a magnetosphere. The occurrence of auroral and polar cap phenomena similar to those found on earth is very likely. In this work auroral and polar cap emissions in a model Jovian atmosphere are determined for proton precipitation. The incident protons, which are characterized by representative spectra, are degraded in energy by applying the continuous slowing down approximation. All secondary and higher generation electrons are assumed to be absorbed locally and their contributions to the total emissions are included. Volume emission rates are calculated from the total direct excitation rates with corrections for cascading applied. Results show that most molecular hydrogen and helium emissions for polar cap precipitation are below the ambient dayglow values. Charge capture by precipitating protons is an important source of Lyman α and Balmer α emissions and offers a key to the detection of large fluxes of low energy protons.     

Lines of force of the geomagnetic field in space

The lines of force of the geomagnetic field at various latitudes and longitudes in the northern hemisphere are approximately traced to their intersections with the earth's surface in the southern hemisphere, using an electronic computer and the first nine Gauss coefficients. Those lines leaving the average northern auroral zone are traced to their intersection of the geomagnetic field with the earth's surface. These points of intersection are found to be very nearly at the average southern auroral zone deduced from auroral observations and from magnetic measurements of disturbance. It is concluded, therefore, that the geomagnetic field has stability and a simple character even at distances as great as about 6 earth radii above the earth, measured in the equatorial plane, even during auroral displays. It is also concluded that solar streams at such times do not seriously distort the field lines connecting the auroral zones.     

Field-aligned currents above an auroral arc

Simultaneous observations of precipitating electrons and protons in the energy range from 15 eV to 35 keV and magnetic field variations were made onboard a sounding rocket payload launched from the Andoya Rocket Range. The electric current density deduced from the electron precipitation observed during the passage over an auroral arc was comparable to that determined from the magnetic field variations. In addition, a downward current was observed by its magnetic field signature at the northern edge of the arc which was, however, not accompanied by significant particle fluxes in the energy range under consideration. It will be assumed that this current was carried by thermal electrons of ionospheric origin.     

Absence of the plasma sheet at lunar distance during geomagnetically quiet times

Plasma data from the Apollo XIV Charged Particle Lunar Environment Experiment (CPLEE) are presented to show that contrary to previously published analyses the plasma sheet does not extend to the lunar orbit with a thickness of 8 R_H. Two electron spectral types are observed: (1) low energy photoelectrons with no statistically significant medium and high energy fluxes, and (2) double peaked medium and high energy electrons. The second type is observed either coincident with auroral substorms or at the center of the tail during quiet times. These spectra are one to several orders of magnitude less intense than plasma sheet spectra measured near 20 R_E.     

The calibration of the Cassini-Huygens CAPS Electron Spectrometer

We present the two-stage method used to calibrate the electron spectrometer (ELS), part of the plasma spectrometer (CAPS) on board the Cassini spacecraft currently in orbit around Saturn. The CAPS-ELS is a top-hat electrostatic analyser designed to measure electron fluxes between 0.5 eV and 26 keV. The on-ground calibration method described here includes the production of photoelectrons, which are energised and passed into the CAPS-ELS in a purpose designed calibration facility. Knowledge of the intensity of these incident electrons and the subsequent instrument output provides an on-ground calibrated geometric factor. Comparative studies of physical quantities such as plasma density and electron differential flux calculated using on-ground calibration factor with the quantities deduced from the wave experiment and high energy electron detector provide in-flight calibration. The results of this are presented together with a comparison of the experimentally calibrated values with simulated calibration values.     

Upper atmospheric temperatures from Doppler line widths—V. Auroral electron energy spectra and fluxes deduced from the 5577 and 6300 Å atomic oxygen emissions

This is a report upon further data obtained from the auroral OI 5577 Å emission with a Wide Angle Michelson Interferometer (WAMI), and upon our first observations made with it on the 6300 Å emission. The method used for converting emission intensities and temperatures to auroral electron fluxes and energy spectra is described. Data for the 5577 Å emission are presented for the (lack of) heating in auroral forms, vertical temperature profiles in aurora, electron flux and energy spectrum variations in pulsating aurora, and a ‘cold’ subvisual auroral arc. Data from the OI 6300 Å emission are presented for the diurnal variation of exospheric temperature and for the thermalization of $\text{O}\text{(}{}^1\text{D)}$ in the F-region.     

Auroral heating and the composition of the neutral atmosphere

Heating of the neutral atmosphere by auroral particle fluxes and by orthogonal electric fields is responsible for large changes in the thermospheric composition that have been observed by satellite mass spectrometers. Vertical winds of a few meters per second are produced in the region subject to auroral heating; this vertical upwelling drives circulation cells that extend the effects of heating in the auroral region on a global scale. Our analysis focuses on the initial phase of a magnetic storm within the auroral region.     

The VOISE algorithm: a versatile tool for automatic segmentation of astronomical images

The auroras on Jupiter and Saturn can be studied with a high sensitivity and resolution by the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) ultraviolet (UV) and far-ultraviolet Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instruments. We present results of automatic detection and segmentation of Jupiter's auroral emissions as observed by the HST ACS instrument with the VOronoi Image SEgmentation (VOISE). VOISE is a dynamic algorithm for partitioning the underlying pixel grid of an image into regions according to a prescribed homogeneity criterion. The algorithm consists of an iterative procedure that dynamically constructs a tessellation of the image plane based on a Voronoi diagram, until the intensity of the underlying image within each region is classified as homogeneous. The computed tessellations allow the extraction of quantitative information about the auroral features, such as mean intensity, latitudinal and longitudinal extents and length-scales. These outputs thus represent a more automated and objective method of characterizing auroral emissions than manual inspection.     

Contribution of Higher-Order Nonlinearity to obliquely electron-acoustic solitary waves in a magnetized auroral zone plasma

Using the Viking Satellite observations data in the dayside auroral zone, a theoretical investigation is carried out for contribution of the higher-order nonlinearity to nonlinear obliquely electron-acoustic solitary waves (EASWs) in a magnetized collisionless plasma consisting of a cold electron fluid and non-thermal hot electrons obeying a non-thermal distribution, and stationary ions. A Zakharov–Kuznetsov (ZK) equation that contains the lowest-order nonlinearity and dispersion is derived from the lowest order of perturbation and a linear inhomogeneous (ZK-type) equation that accounts for the higher-order nonlinearity and dispersion is obtained. A stationary solution for equations resulting from higher-order perturbation theory has been found using the renormalization method. The effects of the external magnetic field and the obliqueness are found to significantly change the higher-order properties (viz. the amplitude, width, electric field and energy) of the EASWs. The effect of higher-order nonlinearity on the amplitude and width of the soliton are also discussed. A comparison with the Viking Satellite observations in the dayside auroral zone are taken into account.