T. A. Bekkeng

Design of a multi-needle Langmuir probe system

The main goal of this work was to develop a Langmuir probe instrument for sounding rockets capable of performing high-speed absolute electron density measurements, and thereby be able to detect sub-meter ionospheric plasma density structures. The system comprises four cylindrical probes with a diameter of 0.51 mm and a length of 25 mm, each operated at a different fixed bias voltage in the electron saturation region. The probe diameter was chosen significantly less than the Debye shielding length to avoid complex sheath effects but large enough to ensure a probe area sufficiently large to accurately measure the electron currents drawn by the probes (in the range 1 nA to 1 µA). The crucial feature of the University of Oslos multi-needle Langmuir probe (m-NLP) is that it is possible to determine the electron density without the need to know the spacecraft potential and the electron temperature Te. The m-NLP instrument covers a density range from ne = 109 m−3 to 1012 m−3, with sampling rates up to 9 kHz. The m-NLP instrument was successfully tested on the ICI-2 (Investigation of Cusp Irregularities) sounding rocket flight from Svalbard on 5 December 2008.

A new Langmuir probe concept for rapid sampling of space plasma electron density

In this paper we describe a new Langmuir probe concept that was invented for the in situ investigation of HF radar backscatter irregularities, with the capability to measure absolute electron density at a resolution sufficient to resolve the finest conceivable structure in an ionospheric plasma. The instrument consists of two or more fixed-bias cylindrical Langmuir probes whose radius is small compared to the Debye length. With this configuration, it is possible to acquire absolute electron density measurements independent of electron temperature and rocket/satellite potential. The system was flown on the ICI-2 sounding rocket to investigate the plasma irregularities which cause HF backscatter. It had a sampling rate of more than 5 kHz and successfully measured structures down to the scale of one electron gyro radius. The system can easily be adapted for any ionospheric rocket or satellite, and provides high-quality measurements of electron density at any desired resolution.

MICA sounding rocket observations of conductivity‐gradient‐generated auroral ionospheric responses: Small‐scale structure with large‐scale drivers

A detailed, in situ study of field-aligned current (FAC) structure in a transient, substorm expansion phase auroral arc is conducted using electric field, magnetometer, and electron density measurements from the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Alfven Resonator (MICA) sounding rocket, launched from Poker Flat, AK. These data are supplemented with larger-scale, contextual measurements from a heterogeneous collection of ground-based instruments including the Poker Flat incoherent scatter radar and nearby scanning doppler imagers and filtered all-sky cameras. An electrostatic ionospheric modeling case study of this event is also constructed by using available data (neutral winds, electron precipitation, and electric fields) to constrain model initial and boundary conditions. MICA magnetometer data are converted into FAC measurements using a sheet current approximation and show an up-down current pair, with small-scale current density and Poynting flux structures in the downward current channel. Model results are able to roughly recreate only the large-scale features of the field-aligned currents, suggesting that observed small-scale structures may be due to ionospheric feedback processes not encapsulated by the electrostatic model. The model is also used to assess the contributions of various processes to total FAC and suggests that both conductance gradients and neutral dynamos may contribute significantly to FACs in a narrow region where the current transitions from upward to downward. Comparison of Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar versus in situ electric field estimates illustrates the high sensitivity of FAC estimates to measurement resolution.

Including sheath effects in the interpretation of planar retarding potential analyzer’s low-energy ion data

The interpretation of planar retarding potential analyzers (RPA) during ionospheric sounding rocket missions requires modeling the thick 3D plasma sheath. This paper overviews the theory of RPAs with an emphasis placed on the impact of the sheath on current-voltage (I-V) curves. It then describes the Petite Ion Probe (PIP) which has been designed to function in this difficult regime. The data analysis procedure for this instrument is discussed in detail. Data analysis begins by modeling the sheath with the Spacecraft Plasma Interaction System (SPIS), a particle-in-cell code. Test particles are traced through the sheath and detector to determine the detectors response. A training set is constructed from these simulated curves for a support vector regression analysis which relates the properties of the I-V curve to the properties of the plasma. The first in situ use of the PIPs occurred during the MICA sounding rocket mission which launched from Poker Flat, Alaska in February of 2012. These data are presented as a case study, providing valuable cross-instrument comparisons. A heritage top-hat thermal ion electrostatic analyzer, called the HT, and a multi-needle Langmuir probe have been used to validate both the PIPs and the data analysis method. Compared to the HT, the PIP ion temperature measurements agree with a root-mean-square error of 0.023 eV. These two instruments agree on the parallel-to-B plasma flow velocity with a root-mean-square error of 130 m/s. The PIP with its field of view aligned perpendicular-to-B provided a density measurement with an 11% error compared to the multi-needle Langmuir Probe. Higher error in the other PIPs density measurement is likely due to simplifications in the SPIS model geometry.