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The study of multiscale pickup ion phase-mixing in the lunar plasma wake with a hybrid model is the main subject of our investigation in this paper. Photoionization and charge exchange of protons with the lunar exosphere are the ionization processes included in our model. The computational model includes the self-consistent dynamics of the light ( H + or H 2 + and He + ), and heavy ( Na + ) pickup ions. The electrons are considered as a fluid. The lunar interior is considered as a weakly conducting body. In this paper we considered for the first time the cumulative effect of heavy neutrals in the lunar exosphere (e.g., Al, Ar), an effect which was simulated with one species of Na + but with a tenfold increase in total production rates. We find that various species produce various types of plasma tail in the lunar plasma wake. Specifically, Na + and He + pickup ions form a cycloid-like tail, whereas the H + or H 2 + pickup ions form a tail with a high density core and saw-like periodic structures in the flank region. The length of these structures varies from 1.5 R M to 3.3 R M depending on the value of gyroradius for H + or H 2 + pickup ions. The light pickup ions produce more symmetrical jump in the density and magnetic field at the Mach cone which is mainly controlled by the conductivity of the interior, an effect previously unappreciated. Although other pickup ion species had little effect on the nature of the interaction of the Moon with the solar wind, the global structure of the lunar tail in these simulations appeared quite different when the H 2 + production rate was high.

Without the shielding of a substantial intrinsic dipole magnetic field, the atmospheres of Mars and Venus are particularly susceptible to similar atmospheric ion energization and scavenging processes. However, each planet has different attributes and external conditions controlling its high altitude planetary ion spatial and energy distributions. This paper describes analogous test particle simulations in background MHD fields that allow us to compare the properties and fates, precipitation or escape, of the mainly O+ atmospheric pick-up ions at Mars and Venus. The goal is to illustrate how atmospheric and planetary scales affect the upper atmospheres and space environments of our terrestrial planet neighbors. The results show the expected convection electric field-related hemispheric asymmetries in both precipitation and escape, where the degree of asymmetry at each planet is determined by the planetary scale and local interplanetary field strength. At Venus, the kinetic treatment of O+ reveals a strong nightside source of precipitation while Mars' crustal fields complicate the simple asymmetry in ion precipitation and drive a dayside source of precipitation. The pickup O+ escape pattern at both Venus and Mars exhibits low energy tailward escape, but Mars exhibits a prominent, high energy ‘polar plume’ feature in the hemisphere of the upward convection electric field while the Venus ion wake shows only a modest poleward concentration. The overall escape is larger at Venus than Mars ( 2.1 × 10 25 and 4.3 × 10 24 at solar maximum, respectively), but the efficiency (likelihood) of O+ escaping is 2–3 times higher at Mars. The consequences of these comparisons for pickup ion related atmospheric energy deposition, loss rates, and detection on spacecraft including PVO, VEX, MEX and MAVEN are considered. In particular, both O+ precipitation and escape show electric field controlled asymmetries that grow with energy, while the O+ fluxes and energy spectra at selected spatial locations show characteristic signatures of the pickup related acceleration and precipitation.

In this report we discuss the global plasma environment of the TA flyby from the perspective of 3D hybrid modeling. In our model the background, pickup, and ionospheric ions are considered as particles, whereas the electrons are described as a fluid. Inhomogeneous photoionization, electron-impact ionization and charge exchange are included in our model. We also take into account the collisions between the ions and neutrals. Our modeling shows that mass loading of the background plasma ( H + , O + ) by pickup ions H 2 + , CH 4 + and N 2 + differs from the T9 encounter simulations when O + ions are not introduced into the background plasma. In our hybrid modeling we use Chamberlain profiles for the atmospheric components. We also include a simple ionosphere model with average mass M =28 amu ions that were generated inside the ionosphere. Titan׳s interior is considered as a weakly conducting body. Special attention has been paid to comparing the simulated pickup ion density distribution with CAPS-ELS and with RPWS LP observations by the Cassini–Huygens spacecraft along the TA trajectory. Our modeling shows an asymmetry of the ion density distribution and the magnetic field, including the formation of Alfven wing-like structures.

Global dynamics of ionized and neutral gases in the environment of Titan plays an important role in the interaction of Saturn s magnetosphere with Titan. Several hybrid simulations of this problem have already been done (Brecht et al., 2000; Kallio et al., 2004; Modolo et al., 2007a; Simon et al., 2007a, 2007b; Modolo and Chanteur, 2008). Observational data from CAPS for the T9 encounter (Sittler et al., 2009) indicates an absence of O(+) heavy ions in the upstream that change the models of interaction which were discussed in current publications (Kallio et al., 2004; Modolo et al., 2007a; Simon et al., 2007a, 2007b; Ma et al., 2007; Szego et al., 2007). Further analysis of the CAPS data shows very low density or even an absence of H(+) ions in upstream. In this paper we discuss two models of the interaction of Saturn s magnetosphere with Titan: (A) high density of H(+) ions in the upstream flow (0.1/cu cm), and (B) low density of H(+) ions in the upstream flow (0.02/cu cm). The hybrid model employs a fluid description for electrons and neutrals, whereas a particle approach is used for ions. We also take into account charge-exchange and photoionization processes and solve self-consistently for electric and magnetic fields. The model atmosphere includes exospheric H(+), H(2+), N(2+)and CH(4+) pickup ion production as well as an immobile background ionosphere and a shell distribution for active ionospheric ions (M(sub i)=28 amu). The hybrid model allows us to account for the realistic anisotropic ion velocity distribution that cannot be done in fluid simulations with isotropic temperatures. Our simulation shows an asymmetry of the ion density distribution and the magnetic field, including the formation of Alfven wing-like structures. The results of the ion dynamics in Titan s environment are compared with Cassini T9 encounter data (CAPS).

The Cassini plasma spectrometer (CAPS) instrument made measurements of Titan's plasma environment when the Cassini Orbiter flew through the moon's plasma wake October 26, 2004 (flyby TA). Initial CAPS ion and electron measurements from this encounter will be compared with measurements made by the Voyager 1 plasma science instrument (PLS). The comparisons will be used to evaluate previous interpretations and predictions of the Titan plasma environment that have been made using PLS measurements. The plasma wake trajectories of flyby TA and Voyager 1 are similar because they occurred when Titan was near Saturn's local noon. These similarities make possible direct, meaningful comparisons between the various plasma wake measurements. They lead to the following: (A) The light and heavy ions, H+and N+/O+, were observed by PLS in Saturn's magnetosphere in the vicinity of Titan while the higher mass resolution of CAPS yielded H+ and H2+as the light constituents and O+/CH4+ as the heavy ions. (B) Finite gyroradius effects were apparent in PLS and CAPS measurements of ambient O+ ions as a result of their absorption by Titan's extended atmosphere. (C) The principal pickup ions inferred from both PLS and CAPS measurements are H+, H2+, N+, CH4+ and N2+. (D) The inference that heavy pickup ions, observed by PLS, were in narrow beam distributions was empirically established by the CAPS measurements. (E) Slowing down of the ambient plasma due to pickup ion mass loading was observed by both instruments on the anti-Saturn side of Titan. (F) Strong mass loading just outside the ionotail by a heavy ion such as N2+ is apparent in PLS and CAPS measurements. (G) Except for the expected differences due to the differing trajectories, the magnitudes and structures of the electron densities and temperatures observed by both instruments are similar. The high-energy electron bite-out observed by PLS in the magnetotail is consistent with that observed by CAPS.

We present new and definitive results of Cassini plasma spectrometer (CAPS) data acquired during passage through Saturn's inner plasmasphere by the Cassini spacecraft during the approach phase of the Saturn orbit insertion period. This analysis extends the original analysis of Sittler et al. [2005. Preliminary results on Saturn's inner plasmasphere as observed by Cassini: comparison with Voyager. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, L14S07, doi:10.1029/2005GL022653 ] to L∼10 along with also providing a more comprehensive study of the interrelationship of the various fluid parameters. Coincidence data are sub-divided into protons and water group ions. Our revised analysis uses an improved convergence algorithm which provides a more definitive and independent estimate of the spacecraft potential ΦSC for which we enforce the protons and water group ions to co-move with each other. This has allowed us to include spacecraft charging corrections to our fluid parameter estimations and allow accurate estimations of fluctuations in the fluid parameters for future correlative studies. In the appendix we describe the ion moments algorithm, and minor corrections introduced by not weighting the moments with sinθ term in Sittler et al. [2005] (Correction offset by revisions to instruments geometric factor). Estimates of the spacecraft potential and revised proton densities are presented. Our total ion densities are in close agreement with the electron densities reported by Moncuquet et al. [2005. Quasi-thermal noise spectroscopy in the inner magnetosphere of Saturn with Cassini/RPWS: electron temperatures and density. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, L20S02, doi:10.1029/2005GL022508 ] who used upper hybrid resonance (UHR) emission lines observed by the radio and plasma wave science (RPWS) instrument. We show a positive correlation between proton temperature and water group ion temperature. The proton and thermal electron temperatures track each with both having a positive radial gradient. These results are consistent with pickup ion energization via Saturn's rotational electric field. We see evidence for an anti-correlation between radial flow velocity VR and azimuthal velocity Vφ, which is consistent with the magnetosphere tending to conserve angular momentum. Evidence for MHD waves is also present. We show clear evidence for outward transport of the plasma via flux tube interchange motions with the radial velocity of the flow showing positive radial gradient with V R ∼ 0.12 ( L / 4 ) 5.5 km / s functional dependence for 4 D LL ∼ D 0 L 11 for fixed stochastic time step δt). Previous models with centrifugal transport have used D LL ∼ D 0 L 3 dependence. The radial transport seems to begin at Enceladus’ L shell, L∼4, where we also see a minimum in the W+ ion temperature T W ∼ 35 eV . For the first time, we are measuring the actual flux tube interchange motions in the magnetosphere and how it varies with radial distance. These observations can be used as a constraint with regard to future transport models for Saturn's magnetosphere. Finally, we evaluate the thermodynamic properties of the plasma, which are all consistent with the pickup process being the dominant energy source for the plasma.

In this work, we discuss the properties of the ion cyclotron waves observed by the Galileo spacecraft in the Io torus on December 7, 1995. These waves are generated by anisotropies in the pickup ion distributions present in the region. To zeroth order the waves grow at the sulfur dioxide gyrofrequency, are left-hand polarized and propagate along the magnetic field. A more detailed study reveals that in some regions the waves grow over a finite bandwidth, with frequencies near the SO + and S + gyrofrequencies, propagate at an angle to the field, and are elliptically polarized. We perform a kinetic dispersion analysis and show that while the parallel propagating SO 2 + cyclotron mode has the largest growth, oblique cyclotron waves can also grow with a significant rate in the multicomponent plasma near Io. We find that decreasing the sulfur dioxide pickup ion density, and including a SO + pickup component can lead to instabilities generated by the sulfur monoxide and sulfur components in the plasma, and to the observed bandwidth of frequencies. Therefore, it is possible that in addition to the waves generated by SO 2 + pickup ions, in some regions Galileo observed ion cyclotron waves generated by anisotropic distributions of SO + and S + ions. When Voyager 1 flew by the torus in 1979 the spacecraft detected the Alfven wing but no cyclotron waves were observed in the data. We evaluate the group and phase velocities of ion cyclotron waves and find that both are smaller than the Alfven velocity. Then it is possible that the cyclotron waves can get carried away before they reach Voyager.

It has been known for many years that neutral interstellar atoms enter the solar system from the upwind side and penetrate deep into the inner heliosphere. Helium atoms, in particular, advance towards very small solar distances before they are ionized and then again convected as He + pickup ions outwards with the solar wind. Since these ions were recently detected in space, we concentrate here on calculations of He + production rates and He + fluxes. It is shown that inside 1 a.u., the He + production is essentially determined both by solar e.u.v. photoionization and by electron impact ionization. We calculate He + production rates as a function of space coordinates, taking into account the core-halo structure of the energy distribution of solar wind electrons and their temperature distribution with distance according to relevant solar wind models. For this purpose, a newly developed program to compute He densities was used. In contrast to the production of H + , the He + production rates are found to be higher on the downwind axis than on the upwind axis by a factor of 5. We also determine partial and total He + ion fluxes as a function of solar distance and longitude. It is interesting to note that only the values for total fluxes agree well with the integrated He + fluxes measured by the SULEICA experiment aboard the AMPTE satellite. This indicates that pickup ions under the influence of the intrinsic MHD wave turbulence in the solar wind change their primary seed distribution function by rapid pitch-angle scattering and subsequent adiabatic cooling. To interpret the He + intensity profile along the orbit of the Earth in terms of LISM helium parameters, we point to the need to take into account carefully electron impact ionization in order to prevent misinterpretations.