Mass-loading, pile-up, and mirror-mode waves at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

BORIS DOI
Publisher DOI
Description
The data from all Rosetta plasma consortium instruments
and from the ROSINA COPS instrument are used
to study the interaction of the solar wind with the outgassing
cometary nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. During
6 and 7 June 2015, the interaction was first dominated by
an increase in the solar wind dynamic pressure, caused by a
higher solar wind ion density. This pressure compressed the
draped magnetic field around the comet, and the increase in
solar wind electrons enhanced the ionization of the outflow
gas through collisional ionization. The new ions are picked
up by the solar wind magnetic field, and create a ring/ringbeam
distribution, which, in a high-� plasma, is unstable for
mirror mode wave generation. Two different kinds of mirror
modes are observed: one of small size generated by locally
ionized water and one of large size generated by ionization
and pick-up farther away from the comet.
Date of Publication
2016
Publication Type
Article
Subject(s)
Language(s)
en
Contributor(s)
Volwerk, M.
Richter, I.
Tsurutani, B.
Götz, C.
Broiles, T.
Burch, J.
Carr, C.
Cupido, E.
Delva, M.
Dósa, M.
Edberg, N. J. T.
Eriksson, A.
Henri, P.
Koenders, C.
Lebreton, J.-P.
Mandt, K. E.
Nilsson, H.
Opitz, A.
Schwingenschuh, K.
Stenberg Wieser, G.
Szegö, K.
Vallat, C.
Vallieres, X.
Glassmeier, K.-H.
Additional Credits
Series
Annales geophysicae
Publisher
Copernicus Publications
ISSN
1432-0576
Access(Rights)
open.access
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