PLASMA WAVES ASSOCIATED WITH MASS-LOADED COMETS

Abstract:

Comets are mass-loaded solar system objects, and as such there are many different wave generation mechanisms. We will discuss pickup ions and the various wave modes that are possible. There are nongyrotropic distributions which will generate different instabilities. And finally ions can be accelerated across the flow and magnetic field lines generating “singing comet waves”. It should be noted that NASA and ESA have had five different space missions to study comets using in situ observations. Different waves have been detected at each comet!