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arXiv · 1802.02198

Electron Physics in 3D Two-Fluid Ten-Moment Modeling of Ganymede's Magnetosphere

Liang Wang·Kai Germaschewski·Ammar Hakim·Chuanfei Dong·Joachim Raeder·Amitava Bhattacharjee
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Abstract

We studied the role of electron physics in 3D two-fluid 10-moment simulation of the Ganymede's magnetosphere. The model captures non-ideal physics like the Hall effect, the electron inertia, and anisotropic, non-gyrotropic pressure effects. A series of analyses were carried out: 1) The resulting magnetic field topology and electron and ion convection patterns were investigated. The magnetic fields were shown to agree reasonably well with in-situ measurements by the Galileo satellite. 2) The physics of collisionless magnetic reconnection were carefully examined in terms of the current sheet formation and decomposition of generalized Ohm's law. The importance of pressure anisotropy and non-gyrotropy in supporting the reconnection electric field is confirmed. 3) We compared surface "brightness" morphology, represented by surface electron and ion pressure contours, with oxygen emission observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The correlation between the observed emission morphology and spatial variability in electron/ion pressure was demonstrated. Potential extension to multi-ion species in the context of Ganymede and other magnetospheric systems is also discussed.

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Liang Wang, Kai Germaschewski, Ammar Hakim, Chuanfei Dong, Joachim Raeder, Amitava Bhattacharjee. 2018-03-15. Electron Physics in 3D Two-Fluid Ten-Moment Modeling of Ganymede's Magnetosphere. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017ja024761

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