Browsing by Author "Nilsson, Hans"
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- Evolution of the ion environment of comet 67P during the Rosetta mission as seen by RPC-ICA
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä(2017) Nilsson, Hans; Wieser, Gabriella Stenberg; Behar, Etienne; Gunell, Herbert; Wieser, Martin; Galand, Marina; Simon Wedlund, Cyril; Alho, Markku; Goetz, Charlotte; Yamauchi, Masatoshi; Henri, Pierre; Odelstad, Elias; Vigren, ErikRosetta has followed comet 67P from low activity at more than 3.6 au heliocentric distance to high activity at perihelion (1.24 au) and then out again. We provide a general overview of the evolution of the dynamic ion environment using data from the RPC-ICA ion spectrometer. We discuss where Rosetta was located within the evolving comet magnetosphere. For the initial observations, the solar wind permeated all of the coma. In 2015 mid-April, the solar wind started to disappear from the observation region, to re-appear again in 2015 December. Low-energy cometary ions were seen at first when Rosetta was about 100 km from the nucleus at 3.6 au, and soon after consistently throughout the mission except during the excursions to farther distances from the comet. The observed flux of low-energy ions was relatively constant due to Rosetta's orbit changing with comet activity. Accelerated cometary ions, moving mainly in the antisunward direction gradually became more common as comet activity increased. These accelerated cometary ions kept being observed also after the solar wind disappeared from the location of Rosetta, with somewhat higher fluxes further away from the nucleus. Around perihelion, when Rosetta was relatively deep within the comet magnetosphere, the fluxes of accelerated cometary ions decreased, as did their maximum energy. The disappearance of more energetic cometary ions at close distance during high activity is suggested to be due to a flow pattern where these ions flow around the obstacle of the denser coma or due to charge exchange losses. - Hybrid modeling of cometary plasma environments: II. Remote-sensing of a cometary bow shock
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä(2019-10-01) Alho, Markku; Simon Wedlund, Cyril; Nilsson, Hans; Kallio, Esa; Järvinen, Riku; Pulkkinen, TuijaContext. The ESA Rosetta probe has not seen direct evidence of a fully formed bow shock at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P). Ion spectrometer measurements of cometary pickup ions measured in the vicinity of the nucleus of 67P are available and may contain signatures of the large-scale plasma environment. Aims. The aim is to investigate the possibility of using pickup ion signatures to infer the existence or nonexistence of a bow shock-like structure and possibly other large-scale plasma environment features. Methods. A numerical plasma model in the hybrid plasma description was used to model the plasma environment of a comet. Simulated pickup ion spectra were generated for different interplanetary magnetic field conditions. The results were interpreted through test particle tracing in the hybrid simulation solutions. Results. Features of the observed pickup ion energy spectrum were reproduced, and the model was used to interpret the observation to be consistent with a shock-like structure. We identify (1) a spectral break related to the bow shock, (2) a mechanism for generating the spectral break, and (3) a dependency of the energy of the spectral break on the interplanetary magnetic field magnitude and bow shock standoff distance. - Remote sensing of cometary bow shocks: Modelled asymmetric outgassing and pickup ion observations
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä(2021-10) Alho, Markku; Järvinen, Riku; Simon Wedlund, Cyril; Nilsson, Hans; Kallio, Esa; Pulkkinen, TuijaDespite the long escort by the ESA Rosetta mission, direct observations of a fully developed bow shock around 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko have not been reported. Expanding on our previous work on indirect observations of a shock, we model the large-scale features in cometary pickup ions, and compare the results with the ESA Rosetta Plasma Consortium Ion Composition Analyser ion spectrometer measurements over the pre-perihelion portion of the escort phase. Using our hybrid plasma simulation, an empirical, asymmetric outgassing model for 67P, and varied interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angles, we model the evolution of the large-scale plasma environment. We find that the subsolar bow shock standoff distance is enhanced by asymmetric outgassing with a factor of 2 to 3, reaching up to 18000km approaching perihelion. We find that distinct spectral features in simulated pickup ion distributions are present for simulations with shock-like structures, with the details of the spectral features depending on shock standoff distance, heliocentric distance, and IMF configuration. Asymmetric outgassing along with IMF clock angle is found to have a strong effect on the location of the spectral features, while the IMF clock angle causes no significant effect on the bow shock standoff distance. These dependences further complicate the interpretation of the ion observations made by Rosetta. Our data-model comparison shows that the large-scale cometary plasma environment can be probed by remote sensing the pickup ions, at least when the comet’s activity is comparable to that of 67P, and the solar wind parameters are known. - Solar wind charge exchange in cometary atmospheres. I. Charge-changing and ionization cross sections for He and H particles in H2O
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä(2019-10-01) Wedlund, Cyril Simon; Bodewits, Dennis; Alho, Markku; Hoekstra, Ronnie; Behar, Etienne; Gronoff, Guillaume; Gunell, Herbert; Nilsson, Hans; Kallio, Esa; Beth, ArnaudContext. Solar wind charge-changing reactions are of paramount importance to the physico-chemistry of the atmosphere of a comet, mass-loading the solar wind through an effective conversion of fast light solar wind ions into slow heavy cometary ions. Aims. To understand these processes and place them in the context of a solar wind plasma interacting with a neutral atmosphere, numerical or analytical models are necessary. Inputs of these models, such as collision cross sections and chemistry, are crucial. Methods. Book-keeping and fitting of experimentally measured charge-changing and ionization cross sections of hydrogen and helium particles in a water gas are discussed, with emphasis on the low-energy/low-velocity range that is characteristic of solar wind bulk speeds (<20 keV u-1/2000 km s-1). Results. We provide polynomial fits for cross sections of charge-changing and ionization reactions, and list the experimental needs for future studies. To take into account the energy distribution of the solar wind, we calculated Maxwellian-averaged cross sections and fitted them with bivariate polynomials for solar wind temperatures ranging from 105 to 106 K (12-130 eV). Conclusions. Single- and double-electron captures by He2+ dominate at typical solar wind speeds. Correspondingly, single-electron capture by H+ and single-electron loss by H- dominate at these speeds, resulting in the production of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs). Ionization cross sections all peak at energies above 20 keV and are expected to play a moderate role in the total ion production. However, the effect of solar wind Maxwellian temperatures is found to be maximum for cross sections peaking at higher energies, suggesting that local heating at shock structures in cometary and planetary environments may favor processes previously thought to be negligible. This study is the first part in a series of three on charge exchange and ionization processes at comets, with a specific application to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the Rosetta mission. - Solar wind charge exchange in cometary atmospheres: III. Results from the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä(2019-10-01) Wedlund, Cyril Simon; Behar, Etienne; Nilsson, Hans; Alho, Markku; Kallio, Esa; Gunell, Herbert; Bodewits, Dennis; Heritier, Kevin; Galand, Marina; Beth, Arnaud; Rubin, Martin; Altwegg, Kathrin; Volwerk, Martin; Gronoff, Guillaume; Hoekstra, RonnieContext. Solar wind charge-changing reactions are of paramount importance to the physico-chemistry of the atmosphere of a comet. The ESA/Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) provides a unique opportunity to study charge-changing processes in situ. Aims. To understand the role of these reactions in the evolution of the solar wind plasma and interpret the complex in situ measurements made by Rosetta, numerical or analytical models are necessary. Methods. We used an extended analytical formalism describing solar wind charge-changing processes at comets along solar wind streamlines. The model is driven by solar wind ion measurements from the Rosetta Plasma Consortium-Ion Composition Analyser (RPC-ICA) and neutral density observations from the Rosetta Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis-Comet Pressure Sensor (ROSINA-COPS), as well as by charge-changing cross sections of hydrogen and helium particles in a water gas. Results. A mission-wide overview of charge-changing efficiencies at comet 67P is presented. Electron capture cross sections dominate and favor the production of He and H energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), with fluxes expected to rival those of H+ and He2+ ions. Conclusions. Neutral outgassing rates are retrieved from local RPC-ICA flux measurements and match ROSINA estimates very well throughout the mission. From the model, we find that solar wind charge exchange is unable to fully explain the magnitude of the sharp drop in solar wind ion fluxes observed by Rosetta for heliocentric distances below 2.5 AU. This is likely because the model does not take the relative ion dynamics into account and to a lesser extent because it ignores the formation of bow-shock-like structures upstream of the nucleus. This work also shows that the ionization by solar extreme-ultraviolet radiation and energetic electrons dominates the source of cometary ions, although solar wind contributions may be significant during isolated events.