학술논문

Electron reflectometry in the martian atmosphere
Document Type
Report
Source
Icarus. April, 2008, Vol. 194 Issue 2, p544, 18 p.
Subject
Magnetic fields
Mars (Planet)
Astronomy
Earth sciences
Language
English
ISSN
0019-1035
Abstract
To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2007.09.030 Byline: Robert J. Lillis (a), David L. Mitchell (a), Robert P. Lin (a), Mario H. AcuA[+ or -]a (b) Keywords: Mars; Magnetic fields; Mars; atmosphere Abstract: The technique of electron reflectometry, a method for remote estimation of planetary magnetic fields, is expanded from its original use of mapping crustal magnetic fields at the Moon to achieving the same purpose at Mars, where the presence of a substantial atmosphere complicates matters considerably. The motion of solar wind electrons, incident on the martian atmosphere, is considered in detail, taking account of the following effects: the electrons' helical paths around the magnetic field lines to which they are bound, the magnetic mirror force they experience due to converging field lines in the vicinity of crustal magnetic anomalies, their acceleration/deceleration by electrostatic potentials, their interactions with thermal plasma, their drifts due to magnetic field line curvature and perpendicular electric fields and their scattering off, and loss of energy through a number of different processes to, atmospheric neutrals. A theoretical framework is thus developed for modeling electron pitch angle distributions expected when a spacecraft is on a magnetic field line which is connected to both the martian crust and the interplanetary magnetic field. This framework, along with measured pitch angle distributions from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer (MAG/ER) experiment, can be used to remotely measure crustal magnetic field magnitudes and atmospheric neutral densities at [approximately equal to]180 km above the martian datum, as well as estimate average parallel electric fields between 200 and 400 km altitude. Detailed analysis and full results, concerning the crustal magnetic field and upper thermospheric density of Mars, are left to two companion papers. Author Affiliation: (a) UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, 7 Gauss Way, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA (b) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA Article History: Received 21 February 2007; Revised 17 August 2007