L. K. S. Daldorff

Two-way coupling of a global Hall magnetohydrodynamics model with a local implicit particle-in-cell model

Computational models based on a fluid description of the plasma, such as magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and extended magnetohydrodynamic (XMHD) codes are highly efficient, but they miss the kinetic effe ...

Global MHD simulations of Mercury's magnetosphere with coupled planetary interior: Induction effect of the planetary conducting core on the global interaction

Mercurys comparatively weak intrinsic magnetic field and its close proximity to the Sun lead to a magnetosphere that undergoes more direct space-weathering interactions than other planets. A unique aspect of Mercurys interaction system arises from the large ratio of the scale of the planet to the scale of the magnetosphere and the presence of a large-size core composed of highly conducting material. Consequently, there is strong feedback between the planetary interior and the magnetosphere, especially under conditions of strong external forcing. Understanding the coupled solar wind-magnetosphere-interior interaction at Mercury requires not only analysis of observations but also a modeling framework that is both comprehensive and inclusive. We have developed a new global MHD model for Mercury in which the planetary interior is modeled as layers of different electrical conductivities that electromagnetically couple to the surrounding plasma environment. This new modeling capability allows us to characterize the dynamical response of Mercury to time-varying external conditions in a self-consistent manner. Comparison of our model results with observations by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft shows that the model provides a reasonably good representation of the global magnetosphere. To demonstrate the capability to model induction effects, we have performed idealized simulations in which Mercurys magnetosphere is impacted by a solar wind pressure enhancement. Our results show that due to the induction effect, Mercurys core exerts strong global influences on the way Mercury responds to changes in the external environment, including modifying the global magnetospheric structure and affecting the extent to which the solar wind directly impacts the surface. The global MHD model presented here represents a crucial step toward establishing a modeling framework that enables self-consistent characterization of Mercurys tightly coupled planetary interior-magnetosphere system.

Extended magnetohydrodynamics with embedded particle‐in‐cell simulation of Ganymede's magnetosphere

We have recently developed a new modeling capability to embed the implicit particle-in-cell (PIC) model iPIC3D into the Block-Adaptive-Tree-Solarwind-Roe-Upwind-Scheme magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model. The MHD with embedded PIC domains (MHD-EPIC) algorithm is a two-way coupled kinetic-fluid model. As one of the very first applications of the MHD-EPIC algorithm, we simulate the interaction between Jupiters magnetospheric plasma and Ganymedes magnetosphere. We compare the MHD-EPIC simulations with pure Hall MHD simulations and compare both model results with Galileo observations to assess the importance of kinetic effects in controlling the configuration and dynamics of Ganymedes magnetosphere. We find that the Hall MHD and MHD-EPIC solutions are qualitatively similar, but there are significant quantitative differences. In particular, the density and pressure inside the magnetosphere show different distributions. For our baseline grid resolution the PIC solution is more dynamic than the Hall MHD simulation and it compares significantly better with the Galileo magnetic measurements than the Hall MHD solution. The power spectra of the observed and simulated magnetic field fluctuations agree extremely well for the MHD-EPIC model. The MHD-EPIC simulation also produced a few flux transfer events (FTEs) that have magnetic signatures very similar to an observed event. The simulation shows that the FTEs often exhibit complex 3-D structures with their orientations changing substantially between the equatorial plane and the Galileo trajectory, which explains the magnetic signatures observed during the magnetopause crossings. The computational cost of the MHD-EPIC simulation was only about 4 times more than that of the Hall MHD simulation.

Self-consistent multifluid MHD simulations of Europa's exospheric interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere

The Jovian moon, Europa, hosts a thin neutral gas atmosphere, which is tightly coupled to Jupiters magnetosphere. Magnetospheric ions impacting the surface sputter off neutral atoms, which, upon ionization, carry currents that modify the magnetic field around the moon. The magnetic field in the plasma is also affected by Europas induced magnetic field. In this paper we investigate the environment of Europa using our multifluid MHD model and focus on the effects introduced by both the magnetospheric and the pickup ion populations. The model self-consistently derives the electron temperature that governs the electron impact ionization process, which is the major source of ionization in this environment. The resulting magnetic field is compared to measurements performed by the Galileo magnetometer, the bulk properties of the modeled thermal plasma population is compared to the Galileo Plasma Subsystem observations, and the modeled surface precipitation fluxes are compared to Galileo Ultraviolet Spectrometer observations. The model shows good agreement with the measured magnetic field and reproduces the basic features of the plasma interaction observed at the moon for both the E4 and the E26 flybys of the Galileo spacecraft. The simulation also produces perturbations asymmetric about the flow direction that account for observed asymmetries.

COMET 1P/HALLEY MULTIFLUID MHD MODEL FOR THE GIOTTO FLY-BY

The interaction of comets with the solar wind has been the focus of many studies including numerical modeling. We compare the results of our multifluid MHD simulation of comet 1P/Halley to data obtained during the flyby of the European Space Agencys Giotto spacecraft in 1986. The model solves the full set of MHD equations for the individual fluids representing the solar wind protons, the cometary light and heavy ions, and the electrons. The mass loading, charge-exchange, dissociative ion-electron recombination, and collisional interactions between the fluids are taken into account. The computational domain spans over several million kilometers, and the close vicinity of the comet is resolved to the details of the magnetic cavity. The model is validated by comparison to the corresponding Giotto observations obtained by the Ion Mass Spectrometer, the Neutral Mass Spectrometer, the Giotto magnetometer experiment, and the Johnstone Plasma Analyzer instrument. The model shows the formation of the bow shock, the ion pile-up, and the diamagnetic cavity and is able to reproduce the observed temperature differences between the pick-up ion populations and the solar wind protons. We give an overview of the global interaction of the comet with the solar wind and then show the effects of the Lorentz force interaction between the different plasma populations.

Kelvin‐Helmholtz instabilities at the magnetic cavity boundary of comet 67P/Churyumov‐Gerasimenko

Received 25 October 2011; revised 30 April 2012; accepted 1 May 2012; published 27 June 2012. [1] We investigate the plasma environment of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the target of the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission. Rosetta will rendezvous with the comet in 2014 at almost 3.5 AU and follow it all the way to and past perihelion at 1.3 AU. During its journey towards the inner solar system the comet’s environment will significantly change. The interaction of the solar wind with a well developed neutral coma leads to the formation of an upstream bow shock and, closer to the comet, the inner shock separating the solar wind, with cometary pick-up ions mass-loaded, from the inner cometary ions which are dragged outward through abundant collisions and charge exchange with the expanding neutral gas. As a consequence the interplanetary magnetic field is prevented from penetrating the innermost region of the comet, the so-called magnetic cavity. We use our magnetohydrodynamics model BATSRUS (Block-Adaptive-Tree-Solarwind-Roe-Upwind-Scheme) to simulate the solar wind – comet interaction. The model includes photoionization, ion-electron recombination, and charge exchange. Under certain conditions our model predicts an unstable plasma flow at the inner shock. We show that the plasma shear flow around the magnetic cavity can lead to Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities. We investigate the onset of this phenomenon with change of heliocentric distance and furthermore show that a previously stable magnetic cavity boundary can become unstable when the neutral gas is predominately released from the dayside of the comet.

Assessing the role of oxygen on ring current formation and evolution through numerical experiments

Abstract We address the effect of ionospheric outflow and magnetospheric ion composition on the physical processes that control the development of the 5 August 2011 magnetic storm. Simulations with the Space Weather Modeling Framework are used to investigate the global dynamics and energization of ions throughout the magnetosphere during storm time, with a focus on the formation and evolution of the ring current. Simulations involving multifluid (with variable H+/O+ ratio in the inner magnetosphere) and single‐fluid (with constant H+/O+ ratio in the inner magnetosphere) MHD for the global magnetosphere with inner boundary conditions set either by specifying a constant ion density or by physics‐based calculations of the ion fluxes reveal that dynamical changes of the ion composition in the inner magnetosphere alter the total energy density of the magnetosphere, leading to variations in the magnetic field as well as particle drifts throughout the simulated domain. A low oxygen to hydrogen ratio and outflow resulting from a constant ion density boundary produced the most disturbed magnetosphere, leading to a stronger ring current but misses the timing of the storm development. Conversely, including a physics‐based solution for the ionospheric outflow to the magnetosphere system leads to a reduction in the cross‐polar cap potential (CPCP). The increased presence of oxygen in the inner magnetosphere affects the global magnetospheric structure and dynamics and brings the nightside reconnection point closer to the Earth. The combination of reduced CPCP together with the formation of the reconnection line closer to the Earth yields less adiabatic heating in the magnetotail and reduces the amount of energetic plasma that has access to the inner magnetosphere.

Calculating the inductive electric field in the terrestrial magnetosphere

This study presents a theoretical approach to calculating the inductive electric field and it is further applied to global MHD simulations of the magnetosphere. The contribution of the inductive component to the total electric field is found by decomposing the motional electric field into a superposition of an irrotational and a solenoidal vector and assuming that the time varying magnetic field vanishes on the boundary. We find that a localized change in the magnetic field generates an inductive electric field whose effect extends over all space, meaning that the effect of the inductive electric field is global even if the changes in the magnetic field are localized. Application of this formalism to disturbed times provides strong evidence that during periods of increased activity the electric field induced by the localized change in magnetic field can be comparable to (or larger than) the potential electric fields in certain regions. This induced field exhibits significant spatial and temporal variations, which means that particles that drift into different regions of space are being exposed to different means of acceleration. These results suggest that the inductive electric field could have a substantial contribution to particle energization in the near-Earth region even though the changes in the magnetic fields occur at distances of several tens of Earth radii. This finding is particularly important for ring current modeling which in many cases excludes inductive contributions to the total particle drift.