Magnetospheric Plasma Sources and Losses


Book Description

This sixth volume in the ISSI Space Sciences Series is a fully integrated book that gives an authoritative overview of all aspects of the topic in a well-organized form. Leading international scientists from all over the world contributed consistent, cross-referenced articles of high scientific standard.







Plasma Sources of Solar System Magnetospheres


Book Description

This volume reviews what we know of the corresponding plasma source for each intrinsically magnetized planet. Plasma sources fall essentially in three categories: the solar wind, the ionosphere (both prevalent on Earth), and the satellite-related sources. Throughout the text, the case of each planet is described, including the characteristics, chemical composition and intensity of each source. The authors also describe how the plasma generated at the source regions is transported to populate the magnetosphere, and how it is later lost. To summarize, the dominant sources are found to be the solar wind and sputtered surface ions at Mercury, the solar wind and ionosphere at Earth (the relative importance of the two being discussed in a specific introductory chapter), Io at Jupiter and – a big surprise of the Cassini findings – Enceladus at Saturn. The situation for Uranus and Neptune, which were investigated by only one fly-by each, is still open and requires further studies and exploration. In the final chapter, the book offers a summary of the little we know of Uranus and Neptune, then summarizes in a comparative way what we know of plasma sources throughout the solar system, and proposes directions for future research.




Space Physics and Aeronomy, Magnetospheres in the Solar System


Book Description

An overview of current knowledge and future research directions in magnetospheric physics In the six decades since the term 'magnetosphere' was first introduced, much has been theorized and discovered about the magnetized space surrounding each of the bodies in our solar system. Each magnetosphere is unique yet behaves according to universal physical processes. Magnetospheres in the Solar System brings together contributions from experimentalists, theoreticians, and numerical modelers to present an overview of diverse magnetospheres, from the mini-magnetospheres of Mercury to the giant planetary magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. Volume highlights include: Concise history of magnetospheres, basic principles, and equations Overview of the fundamental processes that govern magnetospheric physics Tools and techniques used to investigate magnetospheric processes Special focus on Earth’s magnetosphere and its dynamics Coverage of planetary magnetic fields and magnetospheres throughout the solar system Identification of future research directions in magnetospheric physics The American Geophysical Union promotes discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. Its publications disseminate scientific knowledge and provide resources for researchers, students, and professionals. Find out more about the Space Physics and Aeronomy collection in this Q&A with the Editors in Chief




Solar and Space Physics


Book Description

In 2010, NASA and the National Science Foundation asked the National Research Council to assemble a committee of experts to develop an integrated national strategy that would guide agency investments in solar and space physics for the years 2013-2022. That strategy, the result of nearly 2 years of effort by the survey committee, which worked with more than 100 scientists and engineers on eight supporting study panels, is presented in the 2013 publication, Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society. This booklet, designed to be accessible to a broader audience of policymakers and the interested public, summarizes the content of that report.




Kinetic Theory of the Inner Magnetospheric Plasma


Book Description

The inner magnetosphere plasma is a very unique composition of different plasma particles and waves. It covers a huge energy plasma range with spatial and time variations of many orders of magnitude. In such a situation, the kinetic approach is the key element, and the starting point of the theoretical description of this plasma phenomena which requires a dedicated book to this particular area of research.




Magnetospheric Plasma Physics


Book Description

Studies related to the earth and planets along with their surroundings are of great concern for modern scientists. Global geodynamics as represented by plate tectonics has now become one of the most powerful tools by which we can study the causes of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mountain formation and the like. Various missions sent out to space, manned or of the moon, Mars, Venus and unmanned, brought out geoscientific features other planets. Earthquake prediction that was the business of astrologers and fortune-tellers some twenty years ago, has now grown up to be an important science. A number of destructive earthquakes were successfully forecast in the People's Republic of China. In the light of the above-mentioned and other accomplishments in geosciences, we feel that it is a good thing to publish a series of monographs which review selected topics of earth and planetary sciences. We are of course well aware of the fact that similar monographs have been and will be published from overseas publishers. The series, which we plan to publish, will therefore stress Japanese work. But we hope that the series will also include review articles by distinguished overseas authors.







Magnetospheric Plasma Physics: The Impact of Jim Dungey’s Research


Book Description

This book makes good background reading for much of modern magnetospheric physics. Its origin was a Festspiel for Professor Jim Dungey, former professor in the Physics Department at Imperial College on the occasion of his 90th birthday, 30 January 2013. Remarkably, although he retired 30 years ago, his pioneering and, often, maverick work in the 50’s through to the 70’s on solar terrestrial physics is probably more widely appreciated today than when he retired. Dungey was a theoretical plasma physicist. The book covers how his reconnection model of the magnetosphere evolved to become the standard model of solar-terrestrial coupling. Dungey’s open magnetosphere model now underpins a holistic picture explaining not only the magnetic and plasma structure of the magnetosphere, but also its dynamics which can be monitored in real time. The book also shows how modern day simulation of solar terrestrial coupling can reproduce the real time evolution of the solar terrestrial system in ways undreamt of in 1961 when Dungey’s epoch-making paper was published. Further contributions on current Earth magnetosphere research and space plasma physics included in this book show how Dungey’s basic ideas have remained explanative 50 years on. But the Festspiel also introduced some advances that possibly Dungey had not foreseen. One of the contributions presented in this book is on the variety of magnetospheres of the solar system which have been seen directly during the space age, discussing the variations in spatial scale and reconnection time scale and comparing them in respect of Earth, Mercury, the giant planets as well as Ganymede.




The Inner Magnetosphere


Book Description

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 155. As we become a space-faring culture, there is an increasing need for reliable methods to forecast the dynamics of electromagnetic fields, thermal plasma, and energetic particles in the geospace environment, as all these factors affect satellite-borne systems. From the electrodynamics viewpoint, on the other hand, the inner magnetosphere is a key element in the Sun-Earth connection chain of processes. Most notably, it is a region where a significant part of the storm-time energy input from the solar wind is deposited and dissipated. Because the most interesting and crucially important phenomena, as noted, develop relatively close to Earth (in the transition region separating the innermost quasi-dipolar geomagnetic field from the magnetotail), understanding them is a complex task. Moreover, the stronger the disturbance, the deeper its impact penetrates into the inner magneto-sphere. In this region plasma no longer behaves like a fluid, and the motion of energetic charged particles becomes important for the dynamics of the system. This fact leaves “particle simulations” as a primary tool for studying and understanding the dynamics of the inner magnetosphere during storms. An integral element of such simulations is an electromagnetic field model. Recent studies of the inner magnetosphere have substantially improved our understanding of its dynamics while creating new paradigms and reviving old controversies.