Holistic Numerical Calibration of the iMESA Electrostatic Analyzer
[3];
- Naval Research Lab. (NRL), Washington, DC (United States). Plasma Physics Div.
- Univ. of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO (United States). Physics Dept.
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- United States Air Force Academy, CO (United States). Space Physics and Atmospheric Research
A drifted Maxwellian velocity distribution is the most common model used to interpret the data from low-energy charged-particle instruments onboard spacecraft that are used to investigate the ambient plasma environment in the low Earth orbit (LEO). An original method is presented for determining the flow parameters (density, temperature, and flow energy) of such a distribution from the output of the integrated miniaturized electrostatic analyzer, which has been successfully flown on several LEO missions. Rather than attempting to deconvolve from the on-orbit data the analyzer’s response to an ideal, monoenergetic input, numerical simulation is used to predict and parameterize the response of the device to an input distribution that includes an isotropic, non-zero temperature, yielding a straightforward method for extracting the flow parameters from the spacecraft data. The method is computationally simple enough to be incorporated into a robust algorithm suitable for rapid batch processing or real-time analysis of data.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- U.S. Navy
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001
- OSTI ID:
- 1774475
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR--21-21249
- Journal Information:
- Review of Scientific Instruments, Journal Name: Review of Scientific Instruments Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 92; ISSN 0034-6748
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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