EPP

The Mars Ion and Neutral Particle Analyzer (MINPA) is one of the three scientific instruments onboard the Tianwen-1 orbiter to investigate the Martian space environment. During Tianwen-1’s transfer orbit to Mars, the MINPA was switched on to measure the solar wind ions. Here, we present the first results of the MINPA observations in the solar wind. During cruise, nearly half of the MINPA ion field-of-view (FOV) was blocked by the lander capsule; thus only the solar-wind ions with azimuthal speeds pointing towards the unblocked FOV sectors could be detected. We perform a detailed comparison of the MINPA’s solar wind observations with data from Earth-based missions when MINPA reached its count-rate peak, finding a general consistency of the ion moments between them. The blocking effect due to the lander is evaluated quantitatively under varying solar-wind velocity conditions. Despite the blocking effect, the MINPA’s solar wind measurements during the transfer orbit suggest a good performance.

We present preliminary results of a new global Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation model of the Jovian magnetosphere. The model incorporates mass loading from Jupiter's satellite Io, the planet's fast corotation, and electrostatic coupling between its magnetosphere and ionosphere (M-I coupling). The basic configuration of the Jovian magnetosphere including the equatorial plasma flow pattern, the corotation enforcement current system, and the field aligned currents (FACs) in the ionosphere are presented under an antiparallel interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) condition. The simulation model results for equatorial density and pressure profiles are consistent with results from data-based empirical models. It is also found that there are similarities between the FACs distribution in the ionosphere and the observed aurora features, showing the potential application of the simple ionospheric model to the complicated M-I coupling. This model will help deepen our understanding of the global dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere.

We report multi-spacecraft observations of ULF waves from Van Allen Probes (RBSP), Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS), Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorm (THEMIS), and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES). On August 31, 2015, global-scale poloidal waves were observed in data from RBSP-B, GOES and THEMIS from L=4 to L=8 over a wide range of magnetic local time (MLT). The polarization states varied towards purely poloidal polarity. In two consecutive orbits over 18 hours, RBSP-A and RBSP-B recorded gradual variation of the polarization states of the poloidal waves; the ratio (|B_a|/|B_r|) decreased from 0.82 to 0.13. After the variation of polarization states, the poloidal ULF waves became very purely poloidal waves, localized in both L and MLT. We identify the poloidal wave as second harmonic mode with a large azimuthal wave number (m) of –232. From RBSP particle measurements we find evidence that the high-m poloidal waves during the polarization variations were powered by inward radial gradients and bump-on-tail ion distributions through the N=1 drift-bounce resonance. Most of the time, the dominant free energy source was inward radial gradients, compared with the positive gradient in the energy distribution of the bump-on-tail ion distributions.

Voyager 1 occasionally detected sudden jumps of the local interstellar magnetic field strength since its heliopause crossing in August 2012. These events were believed to be associated with outward propagating solar wind shocks originating in the inner heliosphere. Here we investigate the correlation between interstellar shocks and large-scale solar wind events by means of numerical MHD simulation. The solar wind is simplified as a symmetric flow near the equatorial plane, and the interstellar neutrals are treated as a constant flow with a fixed density distribution along the upwind direction of the local interstellar medium. The charge exchanges between the solar wind plasma and the interstellar neutrals are taken into account. At a heliocentric distance of 1 AU, the solar wind data from OMNI, STEREO A and B during the period between 2010 and 2017 are used as the inner boundary conditions to drive the simulation. The simulation results showed that the solar wind gradually merges into large-scale structures as the radial distance increases, consistent with observations by New Horizons. After propagating into the inner heliosheath, the shocks are fully developed and the corresponding pressure pulses roughly agree with the observations by Voyager 2 in the inner heliosheath. The arrival of the shocks beyond the heliopause is estimated and found to be consistent with the observed signatures of interstellar shocks by Voyager 1. The possible origins of interstellar shocks in the inner heliosheath are discussed based on the simulation.

With conjunction observations of electromagnetic fields and plasma from Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorm (THEMIS) in the near-Earth magnetotail, we investigate the spatial and temporal properties of substorm dipolarizations in the near-Earth plasma sheet (NEPS) during a substorm at 03:23 UT on 12 February 2008. Substorm dipolarizations with different features are detected by three near-Earth THEMIS probes (THA (P5), THD (P3) and THE (P4)) in the magnetotail. In the current sheet with a large plasma beta value (β > 2, where β is the ratio of the plasma thermal pressure to the magnetic pressure), the dipolarization within the substorm onset region, (−10.4, 2.8, −2.6)R_{E_gsm}, has a large initial magnetic field elevation angle, θ > 60°, θ = arctan (B_z/(B_x²+B_y²)^1/2), and is accompanied by energetic ion (tens to hundred keV) dispersionless injection detected by THD (P3). This substorm onset dipolarization is characterized by B_x and B_y components around 0 nT with significant fluctuations. The B_z component increases sharply and its subsequent magnitude approaches the total magnetic field, B_t. The maximum value of the elevation angle approaches 85° during the later substorm expansion phase. In the NEPS with β ~ 1, the dipolarization outside the substorm onset region is characterized by a magnetic elevation angle with a small beginning value of θ < 45° and following multi-step enhancements during the substorm expansion phase. The maximum value of the elevation angle approaches to 70° during the later substorm expansion phase. Our observation results indicate that characteristics of dipolarization with a large beginning elevation angle within the substorm onset region provide a new indicator to identify substorm onset location.

The Computer Tomography (CT) method is used for remote sensing the Earth’s plasmasphere. One challenge for image reconstruction is insufficient projection data, mainly caused by limited projection angles. In this study, we apply the Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (ART) and the minimization of the image Total Variation (TV) method, with a combination of priori knowledge of north–south symmetry, to reconstruct plasmaspheric He⁺ density from simulated EUV images. The results demonstrate that incorporating priori assumption can be particularly useful when the projection data is insufficient. This method has good performance even with a projection angle of less than 150 degrees. The method of our study is expected to have applications in the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) reconstruction for the Solar wind–Magnetosphere–Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission.