The ionopause transition and boundary layers at Comet Halley from Giotto magnetic field observations

Details The ionopause transition and boundary layers at Comet Halley from Giotto magnetic field observations The ionopause transition and boundary layers at Comet Halley from Giotto magnetic field observations

Jul 1988

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988jgr....93.7272n&link_type=abstract

Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227), vol. 93, July 1, 1988, p. 7272-7281. BMFT-supported research.

Physics

37

Cometary Atmospheres, Halley'S Comet, Interplanetary Magnetic Fields, Ionopause, Solar Wind, Electron Energy, Giotto Mission, Plasma Density

Scientific paper

This paper describes the results of the Giotto magnetic field observations conducted in the innermost part of the intraction region of Comet Halley with the solar wind. The investigation yielded the following results: the Comet Halley ionopause has a thickness of 25 km, both inbound and outbound, with magnetic field magnitude drops of 20 nT and 18.3 nT, respectively (for the inbound ionopause this corresponds to 0.9 thermal ion gyroradii or 110 electron gyroradii); the ionopause boundary layers are characterized by (j x B) forces of 5.7 x 10 to the -16th N/cu m (inbound) and 7.3 x 10 to the 10 to the -16th N/cu m (outbound). A magnetic field pressure bulge of 80-km length was observed in the ionoplasma; it is interpreted as a weak subcritical shock propagating radially outward, generated by a temporary pressure increase in the cavity, presumably due to a transient population of hot ions and electrons. The presence of hot ions and electrons and additional energy input, suggested by these observations, point to the importance of dynamic phenomena in the innermost part of the interaction region, such as magnetic field line merging in the tail.

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