Gas ionization induced by a high speed plasma injection in space

Abstract

Gas ionization induced by a fast plasma injection has been observed with the Space Experiments with Particle Accelerators (SEPAC) Experiment on Spacelab‐1. When an impulsive high‐density plasma was injected from the orbiter, waves near the lower‐hybrid frequency were enhanced, and the surrounding gas drifting with the orbiter was ionized for several tens of milliseconds after the plasma injection. The long‐duration gas ionization was observed only when the plasma flux incoming to the orbiter cargo bay and the orbital velocity perpendicular to the magnetic field were relatively large. This effect has been explained by the concept of critical velocity ionization (CVI) for the gas drifting with the orbiter, although the gas velocity perpendicular to the magnetic field was less than the Alfvén critical velocity.