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Magnetic Flux Ropes of Venus: A Paradigm for Helical Magnetic Structures in Astrophysical Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2017

R. C. Elphic
R. C. Elphic*
Affiliation:
NAS/NRC Research Associate, Laboratory for Planetary Atmospheres, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Extract

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The magnetic flux ropes of Venus are small scale (ion gyroradius) cylindrically symmetric structures observed in situ by the Pioneer Venus orbiter in the largely magnetic field-free ionosphere of the planet. They are so named because of their helical magnetic structure, which in turn is due to primarily field-aligned currents within the rope. Empirical models can be used to examine the current structure in detail, and these models indicate that flux ropes may be unstable to the helical kink mode. Statistics of rope distribution and orientation also support this instability picture. The results of investigations into the direct measurements of Venus flux ropes may be relevant to certain astrophysical phenomena that must be observed remotely.

Type
Session I
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 107: Unstable Current Systems and Plasma Instabilities , 1985 , pp. 43 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1985 

References

Elphic, R. C., and Russell, C. T.: 1983a, J. Geophys. Res. 88, 58.Google Scholar
Elphic, R. C., and Russell, C. T.: 1983b, J. Geophys. Res. 88, 2993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hasegawa, A.: 1975, Plasma Instabilities and Nonlinear Effects: Physics and Chemistry in Space, Springer-Verlag, New York.Google Scholar