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Attenuation of electromagnetic wave propagation in Martian dust storms

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Abstract

Mars dust storms can significantly affect the radio communication link. In this paper, we proposed a predictive model based on Rayleigh theory. The attenuation of electromagnetic waves (EMWs) propagation in Martian dust storms is calculated using the model, in which the total dust optical depth, the charges carried by Mars dust particles, equivalent radius of Mars dust particles and the EMWs frequency are considered simultaneously. It is found that the charges enhance the absorption of EMWs by Martian dust storms, resulting in a significant attenuation of EMWs in Martian dust storms when at the UHF/S/X/Ka band. While at the Terahertz band, the attenuation is not affected by the charge carried on the dust particle, and the attenuation is more significant. The attenuation is positively related to the total dust optical depth. Furthermore, the attenuation range of EMWs in the Mars communication band of interest in a Martian dust storm was investigated. Our results provide a reference for EMWs propagation in Martian dust storms and it is important to the future Martian communication design.

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Data underlying the results presented in this paper are not publicly available at this time but may be obtained from the authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (No. 23JRRA895, No. 21JR7RA334), the Youth Science Foundation of Lanzhou Jiaotong University (No. 2022046) and Natural Science Foundation of Ningxia Province (No. 2022AAC03643). The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation for these supports.

Funding

The youth science foundation of lanzhou jiaotong university,no. 2022046,natural science foundation of gansu province,no. 23JRRA895,No. 21JR7RA334,natural science foundation of ningxia province,no. 2022AAC03643

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Xvqiang Dou & Wenhan Cao

  2. The Gansu Key Laboratory of the Rail Transit Service Environment and Intelligent Operation and Maintenance, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Xvqiang Dou & Wenhan Cao

  3. Xinhua College of Ningxia University, Ningxia, Yinchuan, 750000, China

    Juan Wang

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Contributions

Conceptualization, Xvqiang Dou; Data curation, Xvqiang Dou and Juan Wang; Formal analysis, Xvqiang Dou; Investigation, Wenhan Cao; Methodology, Juan Wang; Project administration, Xvqiang Dou; Software, Xvqiang Dou; Validation, Xvqiang Dou and Wenhan Cao; Visualization, Xvqiang Dou; Writing – original draft, Xvqiang Dou; Writing – review & editing, Xvqiang Dou, Wenhan Cao and Juan Wang. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xvqiang Dou.

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Dou, X., Cao, W. & Wang, J. Attenuation of electromagnetic wave propagation in Martian dust storms. Appl. Phys. B 130, 73 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-024-08209-w

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