Distribution of ionospheric currents induced by the solar wind interaction with Venus

Details Distribution of ionospheric currents induced by the solar wind interaction with Venus Distribution of ionospheric currents induced by the solar wind interaction with Venus

Jul 1977

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1977p%26ss...25..621d&link_type=abstract

Planetary and Space Science, vol. 25, July 1977, p. 621-628.

Computer Science

2

Current Density, Ionospheric Currents, Planetary Ionospheres, Solar Wind, Venus Atmosphere, Atmospheric Models, Calculus Of Variations, Convective Flow, Incident Radiation, Ionic Reactions, Lines Of Force, Ohmic Dissipation, Resistance Heating

Scientific paper

A method is described for obtaining the volume distribution of current within the ionosphere of a nonmagnetized planet by a least-action principle. A variational technique that minimizes Joule heating over the ionospheric volume is developed to compute the current distributions. This technique is applied to a model of the Venusian atmosphere in order to obtain the current distribution and convection patterns in the noon meridional plane. The results indicate that: (1) the total potential difference from pole to pole needed to drive the required total ionospheric current is only of the order of 30 V; (2) less than 0.1% of the solar-wind plasma incident on the planetary disk is absorbed by the atmosphere; (3) the solar-wind flow is largely vertical near the subsolar point, and the flow lines are 'refracted' toward the planet at high latitudes; (4) the solar wind is more effective as an atmospheric loss mechanism than as an ion source; and (5) the solar-wind interaction with the ionosphere of Venus will result in downward convection of planetary ions and electrons at a rate which may produce departure from photochemical equilibrium above an altitude of 400 km.

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