SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

F. Duru

Publications and source records attributed to F. Duru.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

The Dayside Ionopause of Mars: Solar Wind Interaction, Pressure Balance, and Comparisons with Venus

Due to the lower ionospheric thermal pressure and existence of the crustal magnetism at Mars, the Martian ionopause is expected to behave differently from the ionopause at Venus. We study the solar wind interaction and pressure balance at the ionopause of Mars using both in situ and remote sounding measurements from the MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) instrument on the Mars Express orbiter. We show that the magnetic pressure usually dominates the thermal pressure to hold off the solar wind at the ionopause at Mars, with only 13% of the cases where the ionospheric thermal pressure plays a more important role in pressure balance. This percentage at Venus, however, is up to 65%. We also find that the ionopause altitude at Mars decreases as the normal component of the solar wind dynamic pressure increases, similar to the altitude variation of the ionopauses at Venus. Moreover, our results show that the ionopause thickness at Mars and Venus is mainly determined by the ion gyromotion and is equivalent to about 5 ion gyroradii.

physics.space-ph

The effects of crustal magnetic fields and solar EUV flux on ionopause formation at Mars

We study the ionopause of Mars using a database of 6,893 ionopause detections obtained over 11 years by the MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding) experiment. The ionopause, in this work, is defined as a steep density gradient that appears in MARSIS remote sounding ionograms as a horizontal line at frequencies below 0.4 MHz. We find that the ionopause is located on average at an altitude of $363 \pm 65$ km. We also find that the ionopause altitude has a weak dependence on solar zenith angle and varies with the solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) flux on annual and solar cycle time scales. Furthermore, our results show that very few ionopauses are observed when the crustal field strength at 400 km is greater than 40 nT. The strong crustal fields act as mini-magnetospheres that alter the solar wind interaction and prevent the ionopause from forming.

physics.space-ph

Response of the Martian Ionosphere to Solar Activity including SEPs and ICMEs in a two week period starting on 25 February 2015

In a two-week period between February and March of 2015, a series of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and (solar energetic particles) SEPs made contact with Mars. The interactions were observed by several spacecraft, including Mars Express (MEX), Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN), and Mars Odyssey (MO). The ICME disturbances were characterized by an increase in ion speed, plasma temperature, magnetic field magnitude, and energetic electron flux. Furthermore, increased solar wind density and speeds, unusually high local electron densities and high flow velocities were detected on the nightside at high altitudes during the March 8th event. These effects are thought to be due to the transport of ionospheric plasma away from Mars. The peak electron density at periapsis shows a substantial increase, reaching number densities about 2.7 x 104 cm-3 during the second ICME in the deep nightside, which corresponds to an increase in the MOHigh-Energy Neutron Detector flux, suggesting an increase in the ionization of the neutral atmosphere due to the high intensity of charged particles. SEPs show a substantial enhancement before the shock of fourth ICME causing impact ionization and absorption of the surface echo intensity which drops to the noise levels. Moreover, the peak ionospheric density exhibits a discrete enhancement over a period of about 30 hrs around the same location, which maybe due to impact ionization. Ion escape rates at this time are calculated to be in the order of 1025 - 1026 s-1, consistent with MAVEN results, but somewhat higher.

physics.space-ph

Measurement of Charged Pion Production Yields off the NuMI Target

The fixed-target MIPP experiment, Fermilab E907, was designed to measure the production of hadrons from the collisions of hadrons of momenta ranging from 5 to 120 GeV/c on a variety of nuclei. These data will generally improve the simulation of particle detectors and predictions of particle beam fluxes at accelerators. The spectrometer momentum resolution is between 3 and 4%, and particle identification is performed for particles ranging between 0.3 and 80 GeV/c using $dE/dx$, time-of-flight and Cherenkov radiation measurements. MIPP collected $1.42 \times10^6$ events of 120 GeV Main Injector protons striking a target used in the NuMI facility at Fermilab. The data have been analyzed and we present here charged pion yields per proton-on-target determined in bins of longitudinal and transverse momentum between 0.5 and 80 GeV/c, with combined statistical and systematic relative uncertainties between 5 and 10%.

hep-ex

Forward Neutron Production at the Fermilab Main Injector

We have measured cross sections for forward neutron production from a variety of targets using proton beams from the Fermilab Main Injector. Measurements were performed for proton beam momenta of 58 GeV/c, 84 GeV/c, and 120 GeV/c. The cross section dependence on the atomic weight (A) of the targets was found to vary as $A^(alpha)$ where $α$ is $0.46\pm0.06$ for a beam momentum of 58 GeV/c and 0.54$\pm$0.05 for 120 GeV/c. The cross sections show reasonable agreement with FLUKA and DPMJET Monte Carlos. Comparisons have also been made with the LAQGSM Monte Carlo.

hep-ex

Charged Kaon Mass Measurement using the Cherenkov Effect

The two most recent and precise measurements of the charged kaon mass use X-rays from kaonic atoms and report uncertainties of 14 ppm and 22 ppm yet differ from each other by 122 ppm. We describe the possibility of an independent mass measurement using the measurement of Cherenkov light from a narrow-band beam of kaons, pions, and protons. This technique was demonstrated using data taken opportunistically by the Main Injector Particle Production experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory which recorded beams of protons, kaons, and pions ranging in momentum from +37 GeV/c to +63 GeV/c. The measured value is 491.3 +/- 1.7 MeV/c^2, which is within 1.4 sigma of the world average. An improvement of two orders of magnitude in precision would make this technique useful for resolving the ambiguity in the X-ray data and may be achievable in a dedicated experiment.

hep-ex