Impact of solar wind disappearance event on the Martian nightside ionospheric species: First results

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Ram, L., Rout, D., Sarkhel, S.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Ram, L.
Rout, D.
Sarkhel, S.
author_facet Ram, L.
Rout, D.
Sarkhel, S.
contents The impact of a rarest solar wind phenomenon [disappearing solar wind (DSW) event during 26-28 December 2022] on the Martian nightside ionosphere is investigated, for the first time, using MAVEN datasets. During an extremely low solar wind density, the Martian top nightside ionospheric species underwent significant enhancements. At a given altitude, the density of electron increased by ~2.5 times, while for ions (NO+, O2+, CO2+, C+, N+, O+, and OH+), it increased by >10 times, respectively, compared to their typical average quiet-time periods. The extremely low dynamic pressure during the DSW event, contrasting with relatively higher nightside ionospheric thermal pressure nearly by an order, suggests an upward ionospheric expansion as a direct consequence. This causes an increased topside ionospheric density. Additionally, the day-to-night plasma transport may also be a contributing factor to increased plasma density. Thus, this study presents a new insight about planetary atmosphere/ionosphere response to the rarest event.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_20003
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Impact of solar wind disappearance event on the Martian nightside ionospheric species: First results
Ram, L.
Rout, D.
Sarkhel, S.
Space Physics
The impact of a rarest solar wind phenomenon [disappearing solar wind (DSW) event during 26-28 December 2022] on the Martian nightside ionosphere is investigated, for the first time, using MAVEN datasets. During an extremely low solar wind density, the Martian top nightside ionospheric species underwent significant enhancements. At a given altitude, the density of electron increased by ~2.5 times, while for ions (NO+, O2+, CO2+, C+, N+, O+, and OH+), it increased by >10 times, respectively, compared to their typical average quiet-time periods. The extremely low dynamic pressure during the DSW event, contrasting with relatively higher nightside ionospheric thermal pressure nearly by an order, suggests an upward ionospheric expansion as a direct consequence. This causes an increased topside ionospheric density. Additionally, the day-to-night plasma transport may also be a contributing factor to increased plasma density. Thus, this study presents a new insight about planetary atmosphere/ionosphere response to the rarest event.
title Impact of solar wind disappearance event on the Martian nightside ionospheric species: First results
topic Space Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.20003