Proton Cyclotron Waves Research Articles

Proton Cyclotron Waves and Pickup Ion Ring Distribution Instabilities Upstream of Mars

AbstractProton cyclotron waves (PCWs) upstream of Mars are thought to be associated with the instabilities of pickup ions. The instabilities of pickup ions of ring distributions have larger maximum growth rates compared with beam distributions. However, observations revealed a notably‐reduced occurrence rate of PCWs for pickup ions of ring distributions. Linear instability analysis and a corresponding two‐dimensional particle‐in‐cell (PIC) simulation are performed to investigate the instabilities of pickup ion ring distributions upstream of Mars. Linear instability analysis indicates that a pickup ion ring distribution is unstable to the ion cyclotron, ion Bernstein, and mirror instabilities. The corresponding PIC simulation confirms the linear analysis results and further demonstrates that the pickup ions are scattered toward an isotropic shell distribution by the waves excited. Interestingly, the saturation energy of the waves is much lower than that driven by a corresponding pickup ion beam distribution, and mirror waves eventually dominate the system.

Magnetosonic waves in the Martian ionosphere driven by upstream proton cyclotron waves: Two-point observations by MAVEN and Mars Express

Recent observations from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) and Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft have suggested that pressure pulses originating from upstream proton cyclotron waves (PCWs) can “ring” the Martian magnetopause at the same frequency and drive magnetosonic waves in the upper ionosphere of Mars, thereby transporting energy from the solar wind into the ionosphere. However, the limitation of single-spacecraft measurements prevents simultaneous observations of the driver and response of this “ringing” process of the Martian magnetosphere. Here we utilize two-point measurements from MAVEN and MEX to characterize the ringing probability at which upstream PCWs drive compressional fluctuations in the ionospheric magnetic field. We develop an algorithm to identify PCW-driven magnetosonic waves in the upper ionosphere of Mars from the two-point magnetic field data. The derived ringing probability is higher on the dayside, outside strong crustal magnetic fields, and under high solar wind density conditions. We also show that the median power of dayside ionospheric magnetic field fluctuations is enhanced by a factor of ∼2 at corresponding frequencies in the presence of upstream PCWs compared to the median power in the absence of upstream PCWs. These results demonstrate the prevalence of energy deposits into the dayside Martian ionosphere from the solar wind mediated by the PCW-driven ringing of the magnetosphere. Future studies, possibly with new multi-point observations, should address the detailed processes of wave propagation and energy transport through the system and the long-term impact of this chain of processes on the planetary ion heating in the ionosphere and atmospheric loss from Mars.

Pickup Ion Modulation on Plateau-like Turbulence in the Martian Magnetosheath

The distribution of magnetic energy across scales, represented by the turbulence spectrum, provides insights into magnetic field dynamics in astrophysical and space plasma. While the Earth’s magnetosheath exhibits a conventional two-slope spectrum, the Martian magnetosheath often displays a prominent plateau-like spectrum. However, the underlying physical mechanism remains unresolved. Based on MAVEN observations, we present appealing evidence of pickup ions (PUIs) modulating the plateau-like spectrum through proton cyclotron waves (PCWs). PCWs, driven by unstable pickup H+ ion distributions, significantly influence the formation of plateau-like spectra. Both case and statistical studies suggest that the spectral evolution is affected by the relative abundance of pickup O+ ions. A substantial presence of pickup O+ ions can suppress PCWs driven by pickup H+ ions, resulting in a decline in the slope of the plateau spectrum. Particle-in-cell simulations confirm the role of PUI-modulated PCWs in the plateau-range energy injection. Our results provide new insight into the impact of PUIs on magnetic turbulence evolution and associated energy transfer processes in space and astrophysical plasma.

Conjugate Observations of Magnetospheric and Ionospheric Phenomena During a Substorm Event

AbstractThis study investigates the comprehensive magnetospheric and ionospheric phenomena during a substorm event on 14 December 2013. The methodology involves analyzing data from satellites located within the plasmasphere at dusk‐side of the Earth, as well as data from ionospheric satellites mapped in the subauroral region. Magnetospheric data were analyzed to identify key features during the substorm event. Proton injection into the ring current, presence of proton and helium band electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves with different polarization characteristics, and harmonic structures in these EMIC waves were identified. These harmonic structures coincided with the appearance of magnetosonic waves characterized by rising tone structures and heating of low‐energy protons (<100 eV). Ionospheric satellites (DMSP F17 and POES 15) recorded enhanced proton precipitation contributing to the intensification of subauroral proton arcs. The analysis revealed that these enhanced proton fluxes were associated with variations in field‐aligned currents (FACs) and drove dynamics within the Sub‐Auroral Polarization Streams (SAPS). By combining and analyzing the magnetospheric and ionospheric data sets, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling during substorms, particularly on the duskside. The complex interdependence and causal relationships among EMIC waves, proton precipitation, subauroral proton arcs, FAC variations, and SAPS dynamics were highlighted.

Hybrid Simulation of Proton Cyclotron Waves Upstream of Mars Generated by Pickup Ion Beam Distribution

AbstractLinear instability analysis as well as a corresponding two‐dimensional hybrid simulation are performed to examine the excitation of the proton cyclotron waves observed upstream of Mars. The waves are believed to be excited by the pickup ions produced from the ionization of the Martian hydrogen exosphere. And previous statistical analysis of wave observations suggested that the waves are mostly related to pickup ion beam velocity distributions. While earlier linear instability analysis of pickup ion beam distributions has mainly been focused on the parallel unstable modes, our analysis reveals that the maximum growth rate occurs at very oblique propagation. The corresponding hybrid simulation confirms the linear analysis results and further demonstrates that the pickup ions are scattered toward an isotropic shell velocity distribution by the waves excited. Interestingly, the waves at oblique propagation gradually damp out and the system is eventually dominated by waves of quasi‐parallel propagation.

Upstream proton cyclotron waves at Mars during the passage of solar wind stream interaction regions

Proton cyclotron waves (PCWs) upstream from Mars are generated by ion–ion instabilities due to the interaction between the solar wind and the pickup protons that originate from the extended hydrogen (H) exosphere of Mars, indicating a loss of H to interplanetary space. Their occurrences and properties associated with nominal solar wind conditions have been widely studied, but relatively little is known about PCW activity under extreme solar wind conditions. In this work we characterize the upstream PCWs during the passage of solar wind stream interaction regions (SIRs) utilizing in situ observations by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft from October 2014 to August 2021. The 46 analyzed SIR events are a subset of the events that occurred in the perihelion season of Martian years 32–35. We find that the PCW occurrence rate is increased by a factor of about 1.8 during the SIR phase relative to the pre-SIR and post-SIR phases. Furthermore, the PCW activity tends to occur more frequently in the leading portion of the SIR. The PCWs detected during the SIR phase have more pronounced wave characteristics, namely larger wave amplitudes, smaller propagation angles with respect to the background magnetic field, and closer-to-circular polarization.

Upstream Proton Cyclotron Waves at Mars During the Passage of ICMEs

AbstractThe presence of proton cyclotron waves (PCWs) upstream from Mars indicates picked up protons originating from the Martian extended hydrogen (H) exosphere by the solar wind and loss of H to interplanetary space. The occurrences and properties of PCWs associated with normal solar wind conditions have been extensively investigated since their initial detection about 32 years ago, but little attention has been paid to PCW activity under extreme space weather conditions. Here we characterize PCWs during the passage of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) through the Martian environment using the measurements by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft from December 2014 to February 2019. It is found that PCWs occur more frequently during perihelion periods (Ls = 180°–360°) than during aphelion periods (Ls = 0°–180°) for disturbed times of ICME passage. In the perihelion season, the PCW occurrence rate is increased on average by a factor of about 2 during the ICME phase relative to the pre‐ICME and post‐ICME phases. Moreover, PCWs reveal more pronounced wave characteristics with larger amplitudes, higher ellipticity, and smaller propagation angle with respect to the ambient magnetic field direction during the ICME phase.

Hybrid Simulation of Proton Cyclotron Waves Upstream of Mars Generated by Pickup Ion Beam Distribution Data

Hybrid Simulation of Proton Cyclotron Waves Upstream of Mars Generated by Pickup Ion Beam Distribution Data

Statistical Properties of Plateau‐Like Turbulence Spectra in the Martian Magnetosheath: MAVEN Observations

AbstractThe Martian magnetosheath provides us with a natural laboratory to study plasma turbulence in the presence of pickup ions and locally generated instabilities. Unlike the typical magnetic‐field spectra with a single spectral scaling at magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) scales in Earth's magnetosheath, the magnetic‐field spectra in the Martian magnetosheath during 4 years of Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN observations frequently present an additional spectral break‐point with a shallow slope at MHD scales which we define as a plateau‐like spectral feature. The average occurrence rate of plateau‐like magnetic‐field spectra is 56.6% of our measurement intervals. At moderate pick‐up angles, the occurrence rate increases to a maximum of ∼70.0%. Furthermore, we present a positive correlation with the local ion density and anti‐correlations with the local βi and the solar Extreme Ultra Violet irradiance. A similar occurrence rate in the quasi‐perpendicular and the quasi‐parallel magnetosheath (60.1% vs. 52.9%) indicates that the plateau‐like spectra are more likely formed locally than in the upstream solar wind. Our results suggest that energy injection from pickup ion driven micro‐instabilities, for example, in the form of proton cyclotron waves, has insufficient time to evolve into a fully developed cascade in such a confined space like the Martian magnetosheath.

In Situ Observation of Solar-flare-induced Proton Cyclotron Waves Upstream from Mars

Proton cyclotron waves (PCWs) upstream from Mars are usually interpreted as waves generated by ion/ion instabilities due to the interaction between the solar wind plasma and the pickup protons, originating from the extended hydrogen (H) exosphere of Mars. Their generation mainly depends on the solar wind properties and the relative density of the newborn protons with respect to the background solar wind. Under stable solar wind conditions, a higher solar irradiance leads to both increased exospheric H density and ionization rate of H atoms, and therefore a higher relative density, which tends to increase the linear wave growth rate. Here we show that the solar irradiance is likely to contribute significantly to PCW generation. Specifically, we present observations from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft indicating that, around the peak of the X8.2 flare on 2017 September 10, the increased solar irradiance gave rise to higher pickup H+ fluxes, which in turn excited PCWs. This result has implications for inferring the loss of hydrogen to space in early Martian history with more intense and frequent X-class flares as well as their contributions to the total loss.

Coexistence of Martian Proton Aurorae and Proton Cyclotron Waves during the Enhancement of Solar Wind Activity

Due to the lack of a global magnetic field, the charge exchange process between the solar wind protons and Martian hydrogen corona is of critical importance to Mars’ atmosphere. The energetic neutral atoms and pickup H+ produced during this process can further excite proton aurorae and proton cyclotron waves (PCWs) in the near-Mars space, for which the observational evidence however remains very limited. Here we report a particular event to show that the PCWs and proton aurorae were simultaneously recorded by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft during 10 consecutive orbits. As the byproducts of the charge exchange process, these two phenomena are found to be highly correlated in both space and time, with the correlation coefficient >0.7 between the auroral emissions and PCW amplitudes. Moreover, the wave and ultraviolet measurements show clearly that both the PCWs and proton aurora events tend to occur more frequently and intensively within the stream interaction region, as being strongly modulated by the solar wind activity. Our results indicate that the solar wind can directly transport energy and particles into the near-Mars environment, leading to the simultaneous enhancements of plasma wave activity and proton precipitation, which therefore helps comprehend the significant role of the solar wind activity and charge exchange process in driving the energy budget to the Martian upper atmosphere.

Variability of the Incompressible Energy Cascade Rate in Solar Wind Turbulence around Mars

We present a statistical analysis on the variability of the incompressible energy cascade rate in the solar wind around Mars, making use of an exact relation for fully developed turbulence and more than five years of Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) observations. Using magnetic field and plasma data, we compute the energy cascade rate at the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) scales in the pristine solar wind. From our statistical results, we conclude that the incompressible energy cascade rate decreases as the Martian heliocentric distance increases, for each of the three explored Martian years. Moreover, we suggest that the presence of proton cyclotron waves, associated with the extended Martian hydrogen exosphere, do not have a significant effect on the nonlinear cascade of energy at the MHD scales.

Solar Orbiter’s first Venus flyby

Context. The induced magnetosphere of Venus is caused by the interaction of the solar wind and embedded interplanetary magnetic field with the exosphere and ionosphere of Venus. Solar Orbiter entered Venus’s magnetotail far downstream, > 70 Venus radii, of the planet and exited the magnetosphere over the north pole. This offered a unique view of the system over distances that had only been flown through before by three other missions, Mariner 10, Galileo, and BepiColombo. Aims. In this study, we study the large-scale structure and activity of the induced magnetosphere as well as the high-frequency plasma waves both in the magnetosphere and in a limited region upstream of the planet where interaction with Venus’s exosphere is expected. Methods. The large-scale structure of the magnetosphere was studied with low-pass filtered data and identified events are investigated with a minimum variance analysis as well as combined with plasma data. The high-frequency plasma waves were studied with spectral analysis. Results. We find that Venus’s magnetotail is very active during the Solar Orbiter flyby. Structures such as flux ropes and reconnection sites were encountered, in addition to a strong overdraping of the magnetic field downstream of the bow shock and planet. High-frequency plasma waves (up to six times the local proton cyclotron frequency) are observed in the magnetotail, which are identified as Doppler-shifted proton cyclotron waves, whereas in the upstream solar wind, these waves appear just below the proton cyclotron frequency (as expected) but are very patchy. The bow shock is quasi-perpendicular, however, expected mirror mode activity is not found directly behind it; instead, there is strong cyclotron wave power. This is most likely caused by the relatively low plasma-β behind the bow shock. Much further downstream, magnetic hole or mirror mode structures are identified in the magnetosheath.

Particle-in-cell Simulation of 3He Enrichment in Solar Energetic Particle Events

Abstract 3He enrichment is one distinctive feature of impulsive solar energetic particle events. This study is designed to investigate the process of plasma wave–particle resonance, which plays a key role in selectively accelerating heavy ions. We apply a 1.5 dimensional particle-in-cell simulation to model the electron-beam–plasma interaction that generates electron and ion cyclotron waves, namely proton and 4He cyclotron waves, whose dispersions are dependent on the magnetization parameter α = ω pe/Ωce and the temperature ratio τ = T e /T p . The background particles, e.g., 3He and 4He, resonate with the excited cyclotron waves and experience selective heating or acceleration. Specifically, the resonant modes of 3He ions lead to a more effective acceleration rate compared to those of the 4He ions. The simulation results provide a potential solution for understanding the abundance of heavy ions in the solar wind.

Pick‐Up Ion Cyclotron Waves Around Mercury

AbstractMercury is host to a rich and highly dynamic plasma environment, resulting from the interaction of the solar wind with Mercury's intrinsic magnetic field and tenuous exosphere. Ion cyclotron waves generated by the pick‐up of freshly photoionized neutrals are a common physical phenomenon in the exosphere of weakly and/or unmagnetized bodies. Here we study the properties of cyclotron waves generated by proton pick‐up, the so‐called proton cyclotron waves (PCWs), at Mercury. We surveyed 4 years of MESSENGER magnetometer data and identified 5455 PCW events observed over a wide spatial range, where ∼73% of the observed PCWs are located in the solar wind and ∼27% in the magnetosheath. By associating the wave properties with their spatial distribution, we evaluate the characteristics and differences of the PCWs in the two regions.

Flickering Low Frequency Auroral Hiss

AbstractA low‐ and medium‐frequency (LF/MF) receiving system at South Pole Station, using a wide‐beam dipole antenna, measured continuous fully sampled waveforms of more than 100 LF auroral hiss events between June and October 2019. Spectra of fluctuations of LF auroral hiss intensity at selected frequencies between 110 and 530 kHz showed these are broadband, with spectral power monotonically decreasing to an upper bound typically 20–60 Hz, comparable to frequencies reported for optical flickering aurora. Occasionally intervals of periodic fluctuations in auroral hiss intensity occurred, in most cases lasting only tens of cycles. On September 1, 2019, periodic fluctuations lasted thousands of cycles during two 30‐s intervals, at frequencies 125–145 Hz. Close examination showed these to be dispersed with low frequencies arriving before high frequencies by approximately 4.5 ms per 100 kHz. Ray‐tracing calculations and consideration of the Temerin et al. (1986, 1993) mechanisms of flickering aurora shows that the September 1 flickering auroral hiss observations are consistent with resonant amplification of whistler mode noise by an electron beam accelerated and modulated by electromagnetic proton cyclotron waves originating near 4,500 km, with the wave excitation taking place at 2,000–3,000 km.

Variability of Upstream Proton Cyclotron Wave Properties and Occurrence at Mars Observed by MAVEN

AbstractThe presence of plasma waves upstream from the Martian bow shock, with frequencies near the local proton cyclotron frequency in the spacecraft frame, constitutes, in principle, an indirect signature for the existence of planetary protons from the ionization of Martian exospheric hydrogen. In this study, we determine the "proton cyclotron wave” (PCW) occurrence rate between October 2014 and February 2020, based on Magnetometer and Solar Wind Ion Analyzer measurements from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission. We characterize its dependence on several wave and solar wind (SW) properties, and solar longitude ranges. We confirm a previously reported long‐term trend with more PCWs near perihelion, likely associated with changes in exospheric hydrogen density. Furthermore, we report for the first time a decrease in median PCW amplitude for each consecutive Martian perihelion. Such variability cannot be attributed to differences in the distribution of SW conditions. This trend could be associated with changes in solar inputs, foreshock effects, and asymmetries due to the SW convective electric field influencing newborn protons. In addition, we observe PCWs more frequently for low to intermediate interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) cone angles, slower SW speeds, and higher SW proton densities. The IMF cone angle preference likely results from the trade‐off between associated linear wave growth rates, wave saturation energies, and pick‐up proton densities. Moreover, the dependencies on SW speed and density indicate the importance of the characteristic SW transit timescale and the charge exchange process coupling SW protons with the hydrogen exosphere.

Solar Wind Turbulence Around Mars: Relation between the Energy Cascade Rate and the Proton Cyclotron Waves Activity

Abstract The first estimation of the incompressible energy cascade rate at magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) scales in the plasma upstream of the Martian bow shock is obtained, making use of magnetic field and plasma observations provided by Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) over 600 orbits. In particular, the energy cascade rate is computed for events with and without proton cyclotron wave (PCW) activity, for time intervals when MAVEN was in the solar wind with no magnetic connection to the bow shock. It is shown that the nonlinear cascade of energy at the MHD scales is slightly amplified when PCWs are present in the plasma, around the Martian perihelion. In addition, the analysis of the normalized cross helicity and residual energy for the turbulent fluctuations shows the presence of Alfvénic and non-Alfvénic fluctuations in a magnetic dominant regime for the majority of the cases.

Upstream proton cyclotron waves: occurrence and amplitude dependence on IMF cone angle at Mars — from MAVEN observations

Proton cyclotron waves (PCWs) can be generated by ion pickup of Martian exospheric particles in the solar wind. The solar wind ion pickup process is highly dependent on the “IMF cone angle” — the angle between the solar wind velocity and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), which also plays an important role in the generation of PCWs. Using data from 2.15 Martian years of magnetic field measurements collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, we have identified 3307 upstream PCW events. Their event number distribution decreases exponentially with their duration. A statistical investigation of the effects of IMF cone angle on the amplitudes and occurrence rates of PCWs reveals a slight tendency of PCWs’ amplitudes to decrease with increasing IMF cone angle. The relationship between the amplitude and IMF cone angle is weak, with a correlation coefficient r = –0.3. We also investigated the influence of IMF cone angle on the occurrence rate of PCWs and found that their occurrence rate is particularly high for intermediate IMF cone angles (~18°–42°) even though highly oblique IMF orientation occurs most frequently in the upstream region of the Martian bow shock. We also conclude that these variabilities are not artefacts of temporal coverage biases in MAVEN sampling. Our results demonstrate that whereas IMF cone angle strongly influences the occurrence of PCWs, IMF cone angle may also weakly modulate their amplitudes in the upstream region of Mars.

Heavy Ion Acceleration by Super-Alfvénic Waves

Abstract A generation mechanism of super-Alfvénic (SPA) waves in multi-ion species plasma is proposed, and the associated heavy ion acceleration process is discussed. The SPA waves are thought to play important roles in particle acceleration since they have large wave electric fields because of their high phase velocity. It is demonstrated by using full particle-in-cell simulations that large amplitude proton cyclotron waves, excited due to proton temperature anisotropy, nonlinearly destabilize SPA waves through parametric decay instability in a three-component plasma composed of electrons, protons, and α particles. At the same time, α cyclotron waves get excited via another decay instability. A pre-accelerated α particle resonates simultaneously with the two daughter waves, the SPA waves and the α cyclotron waves, and it is further accelerated perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field. The process may work in astrophysical environments where a sufficiently large temperature anisotropy of lower mass ions occurs.