Engineering topics

Boardsen, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Boardsen, S..

3 records

NASA NTRS2018

Electron Bulk Acceleration and Thermalization at Earth's Quasiperpendicular Bow Shock

Electron heating at Earth's quasiperpendicular bow shock has been surmised to be due to the combined effects of a quasistatic electric potential and scattering through wave-particle interaction. Here we report the observation of electron distribution functions indicating a new electron heating process occurring at the leading edge of the shock front. Incident solar wind electrons are accelerated parallel to the magnetic field toward downstream, reaching an electron-ion relative drift speed exceeding the electron thermal speed. The bulk acceleration is associated with an electric field pulse embedded in a whistler-mode wave. The high electron-ion relative drift is relaxed primarily through a nonlinear current-driven instability. The relaxed distributions contain a beam traveling toward the shock as a remnant of the accelerated electrons. Similar distribution functions prevail throughout the shock transition layer, suggesting that the observedacceleration and thermalization is essential to the cross-shock electron heating.

Chen, L.-J.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Lower Hybrid Frequency Range Waves Generated by Ion Polarization Drift Due to Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves: Analysis of an Event Observed by the Van Allen Probe B

We analyze a wave event that occurred near noon between 07:03 and 07:08 UT on 23 February 2014 detected by the Van Allen Probes B spacecraft, where waves in the lower hybrid frequency range (LHFR) and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are observed to be highly correlated, with Pearson correlation coefficient of approximately 0.86. We assume that the correlation is the result of LHFR wave generation by the ions polarization drift in the electric field of the EMIC waves. To check this assumption the drift velocities of electrons and H+, He+, and O+ ions in the measured EMIC wave electric field were modeled. Then the LHFR wave linear instantaneous growth rates for plasma with these changing drift velocities and different plasma compositions were calculated. The time distribution of these growth rates, their frequency distribution, and the frequency dependence of the ratio of the LHFR wave power spectral density (PSD)parallel and perpendicular to the ambient magnetic eld to the total PSD were found. These characteristics of the growth rates were compared with the corresponding characteristics of the observed LHFR activity. Reasonable agreement between these features and the strong correlation between EMIC and LHFR energy densities support the assumption that the LHFR wave generation can be caused by the ions polarization drift in the electric field of an EMIC wave.

Van Allen Probes↗

NASA NTRS2012

MESSENGER Magnetic Field Observations of Upstream Ultra-Low Frequency Waves at Mercury

The region upstream from a planetary bow shock is a natural plasma laboratory containing a variety of wave particle phenomena. The study of foreshocks other than the Earth's is important for extending our understanding of collisionless shocks and foreshock physics since the bow shock strength varies with heliocentric distance from the Sun, and the sizes of the bow shocks are different at different planets. The Mercury's bow shock is unique in our solar system as it is produced by low Mach number solar wind blowing over a small magnetized body with a predominately radial interplanetary magnetic field. Previous observations of Mercury upstream ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves came exclusively from two Mercury flybys of Mariner 10. The MESSENGER orbiter data enable us to study of upstream waves in the Mercury's foreshock in depth. This paper reports an overview of upstream ULF waves in the Mercury's foreshock using high-time resolution magnetic field data, 20 samples per second, from the MESSENGER spacecraft. The most common foreshock waves have frequencies near 2 Hz, with properties similar to the I-Hz waves in the Earth's foreshock. They are present in both the flyby data and in every orbit of the orbital data we have surveyed. The most common wave phenomenon in the Earth's foreshock is the large-amplitude 30-s waves, but similar waves at Mercury have frequencies at near 0.1 Hz and occur only sporadically with short durations (a few wave cycles). Superposed on the "30-s" waves, there are spectral peaks at near 0.6 Hz, not reported previously in Mariner 10 data. We will discuss wave properties and their occurrence characteristics in this paper.

Le, G.↗