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Influence of Magnetic Fields on Precipitating Solar Wind Hydrogen at Mars

Authors :
Sarah Henderson
Jasper Halekas
Zach Girazian
Jared Espley
Meredith Elrod
Source :
Geophysical Research Letters. 49
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2022.

Abstract

Solar wind protons can interact directly with the hydrogen corona of Mars through charge exchange, resulting in energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) able to penetrate deep into the upper atmosphere of Mars. ENAs can undergo multiple charge changing interactions, leading to an observable beam of penetrating protons in the upper atmosphere. We seek to characterize the behavior of these protons in the presence of magnetic fields using data collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft. We find that backscattered penetrating proton flux is enhanced in regions where the magnetic field strength is greater than 200 nT. We also find a strong correlation at CO

Details

ISSN :
19448007 and 00948276
Volume :
49
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Geophysical Research Letters
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....0bda4cc0d692dc2ac9939c515a505cfb
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl099114