Abstract
The electromagnetic effects of the solar wind interaction with the neutral gas halo and the dust ring around Phobos are examined in this paper. The analysis is used to account for the strong correlation which arose during the Phobos-2 mission between the local enhancement of the electron density and magnetic fluctuations and the spacecraft crossings with the Phobos orbit. The solar wind/neutral gas interaction cannot account for the observed correlation, since the outgassing rate of Phobos is too low. For the solar wind/dust ring interaction, however, it is shown that a local enhancement of the electron density is expected in regions of the dust ring which are dominated by positively charged dust grains. These electrons become decoupled from the solar wind protons in the dust ring region, and evidence of this decoupling can be seen from the high level of wave activity which results at frequencies below 100 Hz.
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