Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufmsh31b0712s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #SH31B-0712
Physics
7594 Instruments And Techniques, 7894 Instruments And Techniques, 9805 Instruments Useful In Three Or More Fields
Scientific paper
Composition instruments have made themselves indispensable in the study of heliospheric plasmas, since only they are able to identify particle ``tracers" that reveal secrets of plasma origin and transport. However, future mission opportunities are likely to put severe constraints on present instrument designs, requiring a radical rethinking of mass spectrometry techniques. Time-of-flight methods currently give the highest mass resolution for the solar wind, but at the cost of limited dynamic range. Likewise magnetic deflection and quadrupole techniques have limitations that preclude their use for heliospheric studies. We present a novel SW mass spectrometer design that is capable of a breakthrough mass resolution M/Δ M>3000, in a 1 liter, 1 kg package with a huge geometric factor of 0.03cm2sr. Such capabilities enable new heliospheric science, such as the molecular identification of cometary or LISM constituents, the plasma composition of magnetic holes, or the triple isotopes of oxygen. Scaling this design down to more typical SW composition instrument abilities, we can achieve a mass resolution of M/Δ M=100 with a 5x10-4cm2sr in a 5 cm package weighing less than 100 grams. Such a miniature detector would be ideal for multiple space probes or a Pluto flyby. We will present the first preliminary data from a modulated ion beam demonstrating the mass resolution capabilities of this breakthrough design as well as some of the challenges in the implementation.
Adrian Mark L.
Gallagher Dennis
Sheldon Robert
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