Cassini's floating potential in Titan's ionosphere: 3-D Particle-In-Cell Simulations

Autor:	Zhang, Zeqi, Desai, Ravindra, Shebanits, Oleg, Miyake, Yohei, Usui, Hide
Rok vydání:	2023
Předmět:	Physics - Space Physics Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Physics - Plasma Physics
Druh dokumentu:	Working Paper
DOI:	10.23919/URSIGASS57860.2023.10265366.
Popis:	Accurate determination of Cassini's spacecraft potential in Titan's ionosphere is important for interpreting measurements by its low energy plasma instruments. Estimates of the floating potential varied significantly, however, between the various different plasma instruments. In this study we utilize 3-D particle-in-cell simulations to understand the key features of Cassini's plasma interaction in Titan's ionosphere. The spacecraft is observed to charge to negative potentials for all scenarios considered, and close agreement is found between the current onto the simulated Langmuir Probe and that observed in Titan's ionosphere. These simulations are therefore shown to provide a viable technique for modeling spacecraft interacting with Titan's dusty ionosphere. Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication at URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium 2023, Sapporo, Japan
Databáze:	arXiv
Externí odkaz:	http://arxiv.org/abs/2310.02496 Zobrazit plný text záznamu View this record from Arxiv