Detection of magnetospheric ion drift patterns at Mars

Autor: Chi Zhang, Hans Nilsson, Yusuke Ebihara, Masatoshi Yamauchi, Moa Persson, Zhaojin Rong, Jun Zhong, Chuanfei Dong, Yuxi Chen, Xuzhi Zhou, Yixin Sun, Yuki Harada, Jasper Halekas, Shaosui Xu, Yoshifumi Futaana, Zhen Shi, Chongjing Yuan, Xiaotong Yun, Song Fu, Jiawei Gao, Mats Holmström, Yong Wei, Stas Barabash
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nature Communications, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2041-1723
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42630-7
Popis: Abstract Mars lacks a global magnetic field, and instead possesses small-scale crustal magnetic fields, making its magnetic environment fundamentally different from intrinsic magnetospheres like those of Earth or Saturn. Here we report the discovery of magnetospheric ion drift patterns, typical of intrinsic magnetospheres, at Mars using measurements from Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission. Specifically, we observe wedge-like dispersion structures of hydrogen ions exhibiting butterfly-shaped distributions (pitch angle peaks at 22.5°−45° and 135°−157.5°) within the Martian crustal fields, a feature previously observed only in planetary-scale intrinsic magnetospheres. These dispersed structures are the results of drift motions that fundamentally resemble those observed in intrinsic magnetospheres. Our findings indicate that the Martian magnetosphere embodies an intermediate case where both the unmagnetized and magnetized ion behaviors could be observed because of the wide range of strengths and spatial scales of the crustal magnetic fields around Mars.
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