The Correlation Between Electron Density and Temperature in Low and High Strength Crustal Magnetic Field Regions at Mars

Abstract:

The Langmuir Probe and Waves Instrument (LPW) onboard the MAVEN spacecraft is the first Langmuir probe to map out the upper atmosphere of Mars. The instrument provides measurements (amongst other variables) of electron density (Ne) and temperature (Te). The overarching scientific goal of MAVEN is to determining how Mars lost its atmosphere and to understand the physical processes governing this escape and the above quantities play a crucial role in understanding this. Ne and Te information is critical for determining the efficiency of the different photochemical reaction rates and thereby in understanding the upper atmospheric composition. Understanding the upper atmosphere allows the MAVEN mission to calculate escape rates. Photochemical reactions and collisions dominate below the exobase region (~150-~180 km). Above the exobase, particles with energies greater than the Mars gravity well can escape. On the dayside solar EUV heats the atmosphere at lower altitudes and produces the ionosphere. It is of great interest to understand the how the electron density and temperature correlate. The presented study therefore shows the correlation between Ne and Te. This study investigates how different solar zenith angles affect these quantities and evaluates if closed magnetic field lines (as expected to occur over crustal magnetic fields) change the correlation between the two. Many previous studies have shown that crustal fields affect the plasma at high altitudes. In this study we present how the magnetic field influences the photochemical and the plasma processes close to the exobase via analyzing Ne and Te.