Hybrid Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Magnetic Sail in Laboratory Experiment

Abstract

Magnetic sail is a propellantless propulsion system proposed for an interplanetary space flight. The propulsive force is produced by the interaction between the magnetic field artificially generated by a hoop coil equipped with the magnetic sail and the solar wind. Three-dimensional hybrid particle-in-cell simulations are performed to elucidate the plasma flow structure around the magnetic sail and to measure the propulsive force of the magnetic sail. We report the characteristics of the magnetosphere, such as the profile of the magnetic field, the thickness of the magnetopause current layer, and the predicted thrust value obtained by simulations, which agree well with laboratory experiment when simulations are carried out by considering the ion-neutral collision effect. The hybrid particle-in-cell simulation carried out without considering the collisional effect gave a thrust value of 3.5 N, which can be applied to the thrust evaluation of the magnetic sail in a magnetosphere with size of 300 km in a collisionless interplanetary space.