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Influence of tail-like magnetic field on O+ ion distribution in the Martian magnetosphere

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Abstract

Based on the comparison with the Earth, using the LB magnetic field model, the distribution of O+ ion originating from the ionosphere in the Martian magnetosphere is theoretically studied under different conditions of the tail-like magnetic field. The results show that the tail-like magnetic field has influence on the O+ ion flux in the Martian magnetotail: (i) the O+ ion flux in the Martian tail will increase if the tail-like magnetic field increases; when the tail-like magnetic field increases from 5 nT to 20 nT, the O+ ion flux increases 3 times in the region of 2.8R m in the Martian tail; and (ii) the O+ ion flux decreases with increasing intrinsic moment; when the intrinsic moment increases about 5 times, the flux decreases to one fourth in the region of 2.8R m in the Martian tail. According to the data on the O+ ion flux and theoretical result in this paper, the deduced Martian intrinsic moment is about 2 ×1021 Gcm3. This is consistent with the most recent observation by the USA satellite MGS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Space Sciences and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100080, Beijing, China

    Jiankui Shi & Zhenxing Liu

  2. Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, A-8010, Graz, Austria

    T. L. Zhang & K. Torkar

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  1. Jiankui Shi
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  2. Zhenxing Liu
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  3. T. L. Zhang
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  4. K. Torkar
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Correspondence to Jiankui Shi.

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Shi, J., Liu, Z., Zhang, T.L. et al. Influence of tail-like magnetic field on O+ ion distribution in the Martian magnetosphere. Sci. China Ser. E-Technol. Sci. 44, 421–426 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02916694

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02916694

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