Heavy ion beam-ionosphere interactions: Charging and neutralizing the payload

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/JA094iA01p00453· OSTI ID:5994637

Kaufmann, R L; Arnoldy, R L ^[1]; Walker, D N; Holmes, J C ^[2]; Pollock, C J ^[3]; Cahill, Jr, L J ^[4]; Kintner, P M ^[5]

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1. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham (United States)
2. Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (United States)
3. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham (United States) Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL (United States)
4. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis (United States)
5. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)

The argon release controlled studies (ARCS 1-3) rocket flights carried ion generators to altitudes of 400-500 km in the nighttime auroral ionosphere. Three distinct electrical charging and neutralization processes were seen on the payloads during gun operation: steady or dc vehicle charging, brief charging at gun turn-on, and extended oscillatory sequences. Many of the unexpected consequences of gun firings are attributed to these payload charging and neutralization processes. Electrical charging is regulated by the rate at which low-energy electrons escape from the generator, which in turn is dependent on magnetic field geometry. Each ion generator produced a dipolar magnetic field which merged with the Earth's field near the rocket. The resulting local magnetic field guided electrons back to the rocket for certain gun orientations, thereby inhibiting neutralization. Transient charging was attributed to the formation of an electron cloud around at least some vehicles, while dc charging altered the rocket's surroundings until the electron escape rate balanced the ion beam flux. The authors concluded that during oscillatory events the entire environment of a payload could alternate between hot electron and cold electron configurations at very high rates, possibly exceeding 10 kHz. These changes in the plasma environment did not produce substantial electric field perturbations at the dc or ac high impedance electric field sensors, so were not seen in data from typical wave detectors. However, changes in plasma density and temperature produced dramatic effects on low impedance electric current sensors such as Langmuir probes.

• OSTI ID: 5994637
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 94:A1; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AURORAL ZONES
BEAM INJECTION
BEAM-PLASMA SYSTEMS
BEAMS
CHARGE COLLECTION
CHARGED PARTICLES
DATA ANALYSIS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTRIC PROBES
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
HEAVY IONS
ION BEAMS
IONOSPHERE
IONS
LANGMUIR PROBE
LEPTONS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
PLASMA DENSITY
PROBES
ROCKETS
SPACE VEHICLES
VEHICLES