A Survey of Photoelectrons on the Nightside of Mars
Abstract Despite produced exclusively on the dayside, photoelectrons, as an important population of the Martian ionosphere, have also been observed on the nightside. Here we present a statistical survey of nightside photoelectrons using the suprathermal electron measurements, made by the Solar Wind...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089998 |
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| author | Y. ‐T. Cao J. Cui X. ‐S. Wu D. ‐D. Niu H. ‐R. Lai B. ‐B. Ni Q. Luo J. Yu Y. Wei |
| author_facet | Y. ‐T. Cao J. Cui X. ‐S. Wu D. ‐D. Niu H. ‐R. Lai B. ‐B. Ni Q. Luo J. Yu Y. Wei |
| author_sort | Y. ‐T. Cao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Despite produced exclusively on the dayside, photoelectrons, as an important population of the Martian ionosphere, have also been observed on the nightside. Here we present a statistical survey of nightside photoelectrons using the suprathermal electron measurements, made by the Solar Wind Electron Analyzer onboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution. We find that nearly 30% of the available nightside suprathermal electron spectra show clear photoelectron signatures. Nightside photoelectrons have an occurrence rate that decreases with increasing solar zenith angle and they are characterized by a preferentially field‐aligned pitch angle distribution. Our analysis also suggests that nightside photoelectrons are less likely observed under the high solar wind condition. These observations are favorably interpreted by the scenario of photoelectron transport along cross‐terminator magnetic field lines, as supported by a simplified test particle model. Our study highlights a complex plasma environment near Mars modulated by both internal and external conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a0ed19c41d4741fcbfbf2eacdfcd67f4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-a0ed19c41d4741fcbfbf2eacdfcd67f42025-08-20T03:07:23ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072021-01-01482n/an/a10.1029/2020GL089998A Survey of Photoelectrons on the Nightside of MarsY. ‐T. Cao0J. Cui1X. ‐S. Wu2D. ‐D. Niu3H. ‐R. Lai4B. ‐B. Ni5Q. Luo6J. Yu7Y. Wei8School of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Zhuhai Guangdong ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Zhuhai Guangdong ChinaNational Astronomical Observatories Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaInstitute of Space Science and Applied Technology Harbin Institute of Technology Shenzhen Guangdong ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Zhuhai Guangdong ChinaDepartment of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information Wuhan University Wuhan Hubei ChinaDepartment of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information Wuhan University Wuhan Hubei ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Zhuhai Guangdong ChinaInstitute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaAbstract Despite produced exclusively on the dayside, photoelectrons, as an important population of the Martian ionosphere, have also been observed on the nightside. Here we present a statistical survey of nightside photoelectrons using the suprathermal electron measurements, made by the Solar Wind Electron Analyzer onboard the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution. We find that nearly 30% of the available nightside suprathermal electron spectra show clear photoelectron signatures. Nightside photoelectrons have an occurrence rate that decreases with increasing solar zenith angle and they are characterized by a preferentially field‐aligned pitch angle distribution. Our analysis also suggests that nightside photoelectrons are less likely observed under the high solar wind condition. These observations are favorably interpreted by the scenario of photoelectron transport along cross‐terminator magnetic field lines, as supported by a simplified test particle model. Our study highlights a complex plasma environment near Mars modulated by both internal and external conditions.https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089998Martian ionosphereMAVENPhotoelectrons |
| spellingShingle | Y. ‐T. Cao J. Cui X. ‐S. Wu D. ‐D. Niu H. ‐R. Lai B. ‐B. Ni Q. Luo J. Yu Y. Wei A Survey of Photoelectrons on the Nightside of Mars Geophysical Research Letters Martian ionosphere MAVEN Photoelectrons |
| title | A Survey of Photoelectrons on the Nightside of Mars |
| title_full | A Survey of Photoelectrons on the Nightside of Mars |
| title_fullStr | A Survey of Photoelectrons on the Nightside of Mars |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Survey of Photoelectrons on the Nightside of Mars |
| title_short | A Survey of Photoelectrons on the Nightside of Mars |
| title_sort | survey of photoelectrons on the nightside of mars |
| topic | Martian ionosphere MAVEN Photoelectrons |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089998 |
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