Dynamics and distribution of nano‐dust particles in the inner solar system

Abstract

Dust particles in the approximate mass range of 10−22<m<10−20 kg produced near the Sun, due to collisions and breakup of larger interplanetary dust particles, have been shown to become entrained in the solar wind plasma flow. When these so‐called nano‐dust particles (NDPs) impact a spacecraft, they have been suggested to produce sufficiently large plasma clouds to cause a detectable signal in the onboard electric antennas. NDPs have been identified on the twin STEREO spacecraft, and the observed intermittent nature of their fluxes were suggested to represent the stochastic nature of their sources near the Sun. Here we show that even if the generation of NDPs remains a constant in time, their detectability near the ecliptic plane becomes intermittent due their interaction with the interplanetary magnetic fields.