Abstract
Solar wind plasma behavior and thrust of a magnetic sail under the condition with interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) are examined by time-dependent, two-dimensional, X–Y Cartesian, hybrid particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Magnetic sail is a propellant less propulsion system proposed for an interplanetary space flight. The thrust force is produced by the interaction between magnetic dipole field artificially generated by superconducting coils in a spacecraft and a solar wind. In the present simulations, the ratio of ion Larmor radius at the magnetopause to characteristic length of the magnetosphere is set to 0.1, and IMF strength is set to 0 and 10nT. As simulation results, magnetic reconnection occurs due to superposition of IMF and dipole field in the solar wind flow field. The reconnection points depend on the direction of IMF and those have an important role in the formation of shock wave. When IMF is perpendicular to the solar wind flow direction, the thrust acting on the spacecraft increases compared to the case without IMF. When IMF is parallel to the solar wind flow direction, lift force is generated on the spacecraft. These phenomena are attributed to the difference in location of magnetic reconnection point depending on the direction of IMF.
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