The magnetosheath of Neptune: Models and observations
This paper gives a complete overview of the plasma and magnetic field in the magnetosheath of Neptune. A more sophisticated method is used to reanalyze the plasma data. This method provides better values of plasma density, velocity, and temperature in the magnetosheath both inbound and outbound from the planet than published previously. The data are compared to results obtained from a gasdynamic model of low around a planetary magnetosphere. Agreement of theory and data is good for some parameters and poor for others. We show that some discrepancies between the model predictions and observations may be due to changes in the solar wind parameters. The model results and data are used to check the hypothesis that Voyager encountered the high-latitude plasma mantle downstream from Neptune. The deviations of the data from the model results in this region are consistent with those expected for a mantle crossing, with the exception of the plasma temperature which decreases in one crossing and increases in the other. This may indicate that our knowledge of the nature of the mantle-magnetosheath boundary is not complete.