IAFE   05512
INSTITUTO DE ASTRONOMIA Y FISICA DEL ESPACIO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Structure and dynamics of plasma tails (ORAL INVITED)
Autor/es:
C. BERTUCCI
Reunión:
Conferencia; 5th Alfven Conference; 2010
Institución organizadora:
University of Hokkaido
Resumen:
The pileup and draping of the magnetic field and the acceleration of planetary charged particles are the net result of the electromagnetic coupling between the atmosphere of a weakly magnetized object and an external plasma wind. Plasma observations by several spacecraft have revealed that the spatial distributions of the particle energy within the magnetotails of Mars and Venus are not uniform with distinct populations occupying the plasma sheet and the lobes. However, important open questions regarding the cold populations remain. At Titan, on the other hand, Cassini’s preliminary survey of the particle density distribution including low energies suggests a plasma wake structure which is different from the one initially expected. This leads to outstanding questions about the estimate of the atmospheric escape in a highly variable plasma environment. In this work we revisit these and other results from observations as well as simulations and discuss possible particle acceleration processes and the role of the upstream conditions in determining the structure of induced magnetotails.