Publications

2024

• Global Environmental Constraints on Magnetic Reconnection at the Magnetopause From In Situ Measurements
  
  • Michotte de Welle B.
  • Aunai N.
  • Lavraud B.
  • Génot V.
  • Nguyen G.
  • Ghisalberti A.
  • Smets R.
  • Jeandet A.
  Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics, American Geophysical Union/Wiley, 2024, 129 (8), pp.e2023JA032098. Progress in locating the X‐line on the magnetopause beyond the atypical due south interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) condition is hampered by the fact that the global plasma and field spatial distributions constraining where reconnection could develop on the magnetopause are poorly known. This work presents global maps of the magnetic shear, current density and reconnection rate, on the global dayside magnetopause, reconstructed from two decades of measurements from Cluster, Double Star, THEMIS and MMS missions. These maps, generated for various IMF and dipole tilt angles, offer a unique comparison point for models and observations. The magnetic shear obtained from vacuum magnetostatic draping is shown to be inconsistent with observed shear maps for IMF cone angles in 12.5° ± 2.5° ≤ | θ co | ≤ 45° ± 5°. Modeled maximum magnetic shear lines fail to incline toward the equator as the IMF clock angle increases, in contrast to those from observations and MHD models. Reconnection rate and current density maps are closer together than they are from the shear maps, but this similarity vanishes for increasingly radial IMF orientations. The X‐lines maximizing the magnetic shear are the only ones to sharply turns toward and follow the anti‐parallel ridge at high latitude. We show the behavior of X‐lines with varying IMF clock and dipole tilt angles to be different as the IMF cone angle varies. Finally, we discuss a fundamental disagreement between X‐lines maximizing a given quantity on the magnetopause and predictions of local X‐line orientations. (10.1029/2023JA032098)
  DOI : 10.1029/2023JA032098
• Self-consistent calculation of the optical emission spectrum of an argon capacitively coupled plasma based on the coupling of particle simulation with a collisional-radiative model
  
  • Donkó Zoltán
  • Tsankov Tsanko V
  • Hartmann Peter
  • Jenina Arellano Fatima
  • Czarnetzki Uwe
  • Hamaguchi Satoshi
  Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, IOP Publishing, 2024, 57 (37), pp.375209. We report the development of a computational framework for the calculation of the optical emission spectrum of a low-pressure argon capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), which is based on the coupling of a particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision simulation code with a diffusion-reaction-radiation code for Ar I excited levels. In this framework, the particle simulation provides the rates of the direct and stepwise electron-impact excitation and electron-impact de-excitation for 30 excited levels, as well as the rates of electron-impact direct and stepwise ionization. These rates are used in the solutions of the diffusion equations of the excited species in the second code, along with the radiative rates for a high number of Ar-I transitions. The calculations also consider pooling ionization, quenching reactions, and radial diffusion losses. The electron energy distribution function and the population densities of the 30 excited atomic levels are computed self-consistently. The calculations then provide the emission intensities that reproduce reasonably well the experimentally measured optical emission spectrum of a symmetric CCP source operated at 13.56 MHz with 300 V peak-to-peak voltage, in the 2-100 Pa pressure range. The accuracy of the approach appears to be limited by the one-dimensional nature of the model, the treatment of the radiation trapping through the use of escape factors, and the effects of radiative cascades from higher excited levels not taken into account in the model. (10.1088/1361-6463/ad4e42)
  DOI : 10.1088/1361-6463/ad4e42
• Magnetospheric Venus Space Explorers (MVSE) mission: A proposal for understanding the dynamics of induced magnetospheres
  
  • Albers Roland
  • Andrews Henrik
  • Boccacci Gabriele
  • Pires Vasco D C
  • Laddha Sunny
  • Lundén Ville
  • Maraqten Nadim
  • Matias João
  • Krämer Eva
  • Schulz Leonard
  • Palanca Ines Terraza
  • Teubenbacher Daniel
  • Baskevitch Claire
  • Covella Francesca
  • Cressa Luca
  • Moreno Juan Garrido
  • Gillmayr Jana
  • Hollowood Joshua
  • Huber Kilian
  • Kutnohorsky Viktoria
  • Lennerstrand Sofia
  • Malatinszky Adel
  • Manzini Davide
  • Maurer Manuel
  • Nidelea Daiana Maria Alessandra
  • Rigon Luca
  • Sinjan Jonas
  • Suarez Crisel
  • Viviano Mirko
  • Knutsen Elise Wright
  Acta Astronautica, Elsevier, 2024, 221, pp.194-205. Induced magnetospheres form around planetary bodies with atmospheres through the interaction of the solar wind with their ionosphere. Induced magnetospheres are highly dependent on the so- lar wind conditions and have only been studied with single spacecraft missions in the past. This gap in knowledge could be addressed by a multi-spacecraft plasma mission, optimized for study- ing global spatial and temporal variations in the magnetospheric system around Venus, which hosts the most prominent example of an induced magnetosphere in our solar system. The MVSE mission comprises four satellites, of which three are identical scientific spacecraft, carrying the same suite of instruments probing different regions of the induced magnetosphere and the solar wind simultaneously. The fourth spacecraft is the transfer vehicle which acts as a relay satellite for communications at Venus. In this way, changes in the solar wind conditions and extreme solar events can be observed, and their effects can be quantified as they propagate through the Venusian induced magnetosphere. Additionally, energy transfer in the Venusian induced mag- netosphere can be investigated. The scientific payload includes instrumentation to measure the magnetic field, electric field, and ion-electron velocity distributions. This study presents the scientific motivation for the mission as well as requirements and the resulting mission design. Concretely, a mission timeline along with a complete spacecraft design, including mass, power, communication, propulsion and thermal budgets are given. This mission was initially conceived at the Alpbach Summer School 2022 and refined during a week-long study at ESA’s Concurrent Design Facility in Redu, Belgium (10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.05.017)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.05.017