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Recycling of Ions in Mercury’s Magnetosphere

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2016

Rosemary Killen ,
Andrew Potter ,
Menelaos Sarantos  and
Patricia Reiff
Rosemary Killen
Affiliation:
The University of Maryland, Dept. of Astronomy, College Park, MD 20742-2425, U.S.A.
Andrew Potter
Affiliation:
National Solar Observatory, 950 N. Cherry, Tucson, AZ 85726, U.S.A.
Menelaos Sarantos
Affiliation:
Rice University, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, 6100 S. Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, U.S.A.
Patricia Reiff
Affiliation:
Rice University, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, 6100 S. Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, U.S.A.

Abstract

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To determine the relative rates of ion recycling to the surface and loss of ions to the solar wind, we followed 3,500 Na ions in a tight grid of magnetic and electric fields at Mercury. We conclude that up to 60% of the photoions launched on the dayside near the surface will re-impact the dayside. For a dawn – dusk electric field, we find that most of the returning ions impact the dayside. This will be the case for a southward IMF. Photoions do not impact the dayside with sufficient energy to cause secondary sputtering, but on the nightside they will be accelerated to keV energies, and may cause secondary sputtering there.

Type
I. Joint Discussions
Information
Highlights of Astronomy , Volume 13 , 2005 , pp. 60 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Pacific 2005

References

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