Numerical solutions to the problem of charged particel flow around an ionospheric spacecraft

Abstract

The interaction of a conducting body moving through the ionosphere with the surrounding plasma is treated numerically. The Poisson and Vlasov equations are solved using computer techniques to give information about the redistribution of charged particles in the wake behind the body and the perturbation of the electric potential sheaths around the body. Three cases of interest are studied: body size less than, equal to, and greater than the Debye length in the surrounding plasma. A range of body potentials and ion Mach numbers are considered which are typical of conditions found in the ionosphere. Wake features, such as ion-free wake lengths and angles of propagation of disturbances in the wakes, are investigated for these conditions. Physical pictures of the mechanisms of wake formation behind a plate and a disc are built up for the three classes of body size, and differences due to geometry or size are explained. The smaller bodies are comparable in size to instrument booms, diagnostic probes, antennae, etc. and the larger bodies approach the dimensions of ionospheric satellites and space probes.