A simulation study of protons heated by left/right-handed Alfvén waves generated by electromagnetic proton-proton instability

Most protons in the solar wind belong to one of two different populations,the less dense beam protons and the denser core protons.The beam protons,with a velocity of(1-2)V_(A)(V_(A)is the local Alfvén speed),always drift relative to the core protons;this kind of distribution is unstable and stimulates several kinds of wave mode.In this study,using a 2 D hybrid simulation model,we find that the original right-handed elliptically polarized Alfvén waves become linearly polarized,and eventually become right-handed and circularly polarized.Given that linearly polarized waves are a superposition of left-handed and right-handed waves,cyclotron resonance in the right-handed/left-handed component heats beam/core protons perpendicularly.The resonance between beam protons and right-handed polarized waves is stronger when the beam relative density is lower,resulting in more dramatic perpendicular heating of beam protons,whereas the situation is reversed when the beam relative density is larger.

EUV-dependence of Venusian dayside ionopause altitude:VEX and PVO observations

The Venusian dayside ionosphere, similar to other planetary ionospheres, is produced primarily by ionization of its neutral upper atmosphere due to solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. It has become clear that the expansion of the ionosphere may be strongly controlled by the EUV level, as exhibited in data collected by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) during one solar cycle (1978 1992). However, the EUV-dependence of the Venusian dayside ionopause altitude, which defines the outer boundary of the ionosphere, remains obscure because the PVO crossed the dayside ionopause only during the solar maximum;its periapsis lifted too high during the solar minimum. Recently, during the period 2006 2014, which included the longest and quietest solar minimum of the past several decades, Venus Express (VEX) provided measurements of the photoelectron boundary (PEB) over the northern high-latitude region. Since the photoelectron boundary is closely related to the ionopause, we have an opportunity to analyze the EUV effect on the dayside ionopause by combining PVO and VEX observations. We have evaluated and then reduced the orbit bias effect in data from both PVO and VEX, and then used the results to derive a relationship between solar EUV level and the dayside ionopause altitude. We find that the dayside ionopause altitude increases as the solar EUV level increases, which is consistent with theoretical expectations.

Frozen Gaussian Approximation for the Dirac Equation in Curved Space with Application to Strained Graphene

In this paper,we derive the frozen Gaussian approximation(FGA)for computing the solution to the Dirac equation in curved space in the semi-classical regime.The latter equation is used in particular for modeling electronic scattering on strained graphene surfaces.We present numerical comparisons of the Dirac solutions on curved and flat spaces,illustrating the focusing effect of graphene surfaces,as well as qualitative comparisons with a tight-binding model.A CPU-time comparison shows that FGA becomes more efficient than an IMEX pseudospectral method when the semiclassical parameter is small.

The solar wind plasma upstream of Mars observed by Tianwen-1:Comparison with Mars Express and MAVEN

On the great journey to Mars,China’s first planetary exploration mission,the Tianwen-1 came within 26 million kilometers of Mars from 31 October 2020 to 25 January 2021 and was getting closer to its destination,the red planet,in search of answers to the cataclysmic climate change that occurred in Martian history.Both the escape of the Martian atmosphere and the loss of surface water were firmly influenced by solar activities.Tianwen-1 provided a unique chance to depict the solar wind streams between Earth and Mars during the minimum of Solar Cycle 25.During the three-month cruise phase of Tianwen-1,the solar wind flows were successively observed at Earth,Tianwen-1,and Mars.After the field of view correction and noise reduction,the solar wind velocity and density measured by Tianwen-1 show good agreement with those at Earth and Mars.The results indicate that the performance of the ion analyzer onboard the Tianwen-1 orbiter is reliable and stable.It is worth looking forward to the joint observations of ion escape with other Mars probes in the following Martian years.

Ablation of Venusian oxygen ions by unshocked solar wind

As an Earth-like planet Venus probably had a primordial dipole field for several million years after formation of the planet.Since this dipole field eventually vanished the ionosphere of Venus has been exposed to the solar wind.The solar wind is shocked near Venus,and then scavenges the ionospheric particles through the magnetosheath and the magnetotail.The escape rate of oxygen ions(O^+)estimated from spacecraft observations over the past several decades has manifested its importance for the evolution of planetary habitability,considering the accumulated effect over the history of Venus.However,all the previous observations were made in the shocked solar wind and/or inside the wake,though some simulations showed that unshocked solar wind can also ablate O^+ions.Here we report Venus Express observations of O^+ions in the unshocked solar wind during the solar minimum.The observations suggest that these O^+ions are accelerated by the unshocked solar wind through pickup processes.The estimated O^+escape rate,2.1×10^(24) ions/s,is comparable to those measured in the shocked solar wind and the wake.This escape rate could result in about 2 cm global water loss over 4.5 billion years.Our results suggest that the atmospheric loss at unmagnetized planets is significantly underestimated by previous observations,and thus we can emphasize the importance of an Earth-like dipole for planetary habitability.