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Neutral Atom Imaging of the Solar Wind-Magnetosphere-Exosphere Interaction Near the Subsolar Magnetopause

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl089362· OSTI ID:1764216
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [7];  [10]
  1. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States); Univ. of Texas at San Antonio, TX (United States)
  2. Univ. of Bern (Switzerland)
  3. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  4. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  5. Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA (United States)
  6. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  7. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
  8. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States)
  9. Univ. de Toulouse (France); Univ. of Murcia (Spain)
  10. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) created by charge-exchange of ions with the Earth's hydrogen exosphere near the subsolar magnetopause yield information on the distribution of plasma in the outer magnetosphere and magnetosheath. ENA observations from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) are used to image magnetosheath plasma and, for the first time, low-energy magnetospheric plasma near the magnetopause. These images show that magnetosheath plasma is distributed fairly evenly near the subsolar magnetopause; however, low-energy magnetospheric plasma is not distributed evenly in the outer magnetosphere. Simultaneous images and in situ observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft from November 2015 (during the solar cycle declining phase) are used to derive the exospheric density. The ~11–17 cm–3 density at 10 RE is similar to that obtained previously for solar minimum. Thus, these combined results indicate that the exospheric density 10 RE from the Earth may have a weak dependence on solar cycle.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
1764216
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--20-24593
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 19 Vol. 47; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
charge‐exchange
energetic neutral atoms
solar wind‐magnetosphere‐exosphere interaction