MHD and Kinetic Modeling of the Ionospheres of Venus and Mars

Abstract

It is widely recognized that both Venus and Mars possess no significant global intrinsic magnetic fields, and that the solar wind interacts directly with the upper atmospheres and ionospheres of Venus and Mars. In addition, local crustal magnetic fields are also present in various regions at Mars, suggesting that some regions of the Martian ionosphere are influenced not only by the solar wind but also by the crustal magnetic field. Previous studies have suggested that the basic structures of the ionospheres of the planets can be described by fluid and MHD(magnetohydrodynamic) processes. Various models of the ionospheres of Venus and Mars based on the MHD formulation have been constructed during the last two decades. Although the MHD approach has been successful in reproducing the ionospheres of the planets, some studies have indicated that MHD modeling is not necessarily appropriate in the regions of the topside ionosphere, the ionopause, and the magnetosheath, where the ion kinetic processes are likely t...