Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2019

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[J] Oral

P (Space and Planetary Sciences ) » P-CG Complex & General

[P-CG25] Planetary Magnetosphere, Ionosphere, and Atmosphere

Tue. May 28, 2019 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM A05 (TOKYO BAY MAKUHARI HALL)

convener:Kanako Seki(Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo), Takeshi Imamura(Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo), Hiroyuki Maezawa(Department of Physical Science Osaka Prefecture University), Naoki Terada(Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University), Chairperson:Hiromu Nakagawa(Planetary Atmosphere Physics Laboratory, Department of Geophysics, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University), Kanako Seki( Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo,)

12:00 PM - 12:15 PM

[PCG25-10] Simulating solar energetic electron precipitation and drift at Mars

*Rebecca Jolitz1, Chuanfei Dong2, Dave A Brain1, Steve Bougher3, Christina Lee4, Rob Lillis4, Shannon Curry4, Bruce Jakosky1 (1.Univ. of Colorado Boulder, 2.Princeton Univ., 3.Univ. of Michigan, 4.Univ. of California Berkeley)

Keywords:Mars, solar energetic particles, gradient drift, particle precipitation

Solar disturbances release energetic charged particles that are expected to directly precipitate into the atmospheres of weakly magnetized planets like Mars. However, draped magnetic fields can influence the motion of energetic electrons. Using a test particle model of 1 keV - 100 keV electrons moving in magnetic fields from a multifluid magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we find that energetic electrons with steep pitch angles are affected by gradient drifts over the dayside of Mars. For an interplanetary magnetic field directed in the away sector, electrons will drift southwards, perpendicular to the direction of the draped magnetic field. Gradient drifts at Mars can facilitate increased precipitation by directing electrons towards the magnetized southern hemisphere and into magnetic field cusps. These findings suggest energetic electrons precipitate non-uniformly and are attenuated at low altitudes above the dayside northern hemisphere of Mars.