Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufmsm21c0272s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #SM21C-0272
Physics
2744 Magnetotail, 7855 Spacecraft Sheaths, Wakes, Charging
Scientific paper
In the Earth's magnetosphere the conductive surface of a spacecraft is positively charged under a sunlit condition. Then photoelectrons emitted from the spacecraft surface are pulled back to the spacecraft, and some of them are detected by electron analyzer onboard. We examined the photoelectron distribution around GEOTAIL spacecraft and its relationship between spacecraft potential with the Low Energy Particle (LEP) instrument and Electric Field Detector (EFD). Our statistic study revealed asymmetry of photoelectron distribution in the dawn-dusk direction. The ratio of the duskward to dawnward photoelectron fluxes strongly depends on photoelectron energy normalized by the spacecraft potential (E/Vsc). This result implies the existence of an azimuthal component of electric field as well as the radial component which is regarded as being dominant in an ordinary case around the spacecraft surface. Based on various parameters of ambient plasma and the shape of GEOTAIL spacecraft, we discuss the cause of the artificial electric field.
Hayakawa Hisao
Kasaba Yasumasa
Machida Shiki
Mukai Tadashi
Saito Yukio
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