We gratefully acknowledge support from
the Simons Foundation and member institutions.
Full-text links:

Download:

Current browse context:

astro-ph.SR

Change to browse by:

References & Citations

Bookmark

(what is this?)
CiteULike logo BibSonomy logo Mendeley logo del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo

Astrophysics > Solar and Stellar Astrophysics

Title: Alfvén Waves at Mars

Abstract: The solar wind upstream of Mars's bow shock can be described in terms of Alfv\'enic turbulence, with an incompressible energy cascade rate of $10^{-17}$ J m$^{-3}$ s$^{-1}$ at magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) scales. The solar wind has more Alfv\'en waves propagating outwards from the Sun (than inwards) and a median Alfv\'en ratio of $\sim0.33$. Newly ionized planetary protons associated with the extended hydrogen corona generate waves at the local proton cyclotron frequency. These 'proton cyclotron waves' (PCW) mostly correspond to fast magnetosonic waves, although the ion cyclotron (Alfv\'enic) wave mode is possible for large Interplanetary Magnetic Field cone angles. PCW do not show significant effects on the solar wind energy cascade rates at MHD scales but could affect smaller scales. The magnetosheath displays high amplitude wave activity, with high occurrence rate of Alfv\'en waves. Turbulence appears not fully developed in the magnetosheath, suggesting fluctuations do not have enough time to interact in this small-size region. Some studies suggest PCW affect turbulence in the magnetosheath. Overall, wave activity is reduced inside the magnetic pile-up region and the Martian ionosphere. However, under certain conditions, upstream waves can reach the upper ionosphere. So far, there have not been conclusive observations of Alfv\'en waves in the ionosphere or along crustal magnetic fields, which could be due to the lack of adequate observations.
Comments: Accepted for publication in 'Alfv\'en Waves across Heliophysics: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities' (American Geophysical Union). Further reproduction or electronic distribution is not permitted
Subjects: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR); Space Physics (physics.space-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2403.17304 [astro-ph.SR]
  (or arXiv:2403.17304v1 [astro-ph.SR] for this version)

Submission history

From: Norberto Romanelli [view email]
[v1] Tue, 26 Mar 2024 01:15:31 GMT (13231kb,D)

Link back to: arXiv, form interface, contact.