THE ROLE OF PICKUP IONS ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE VENUSIAN BOW SHOCK AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE TERMINATION SHOCK

Journal Article · Tue Aug 20 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/773/2/L24· OSTI ID:22136585

Quanming, Lu; Lican, Shan; Tielong, Zhang; Mingyu, Wu; Shui, Wang ^[1]; Zank, Gary P. ^[2]; Zhongwei, Yang ^[3]

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1. CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China)
2. Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR), University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States)
3. SOA Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai (China)

The recent crossing of the termination shock by Voyager 2 has demonstrated the important role of pickup ions (PUIs) in the physics of collisionless shocks. The Venus Express (VEX) spacecraft orbits Venus in a 24 hr elliptical orbit that crosses the bow shock twice a day. VEX provides a unique opportunity to investigate the role of PUIs on the structure of collisionless shocks more generally. Using VEX observations, we find that the strength of the Venusian bow shock is weaker when solar activity is strong. We demonstrate that this surprising anti-correlation is due to PUIs mediating the Venusian bow shock.

• OSTI ID: 22136585
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 773, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ORBITS
SHOCK WAVES
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SUN
VENUS PLANET
VOYAGER SPACE PROBES