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Motivation

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Motivation

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  1. Multi-fluid MHD Study on Ion Loss from Titan’s AtmosphereY. J. Ma, C. T. Russell, A. F. Nagy, G. Toth, M. K. Dougherty, A. Wellbrock, A. J. Coates, P. Garnier, J-E. Wahlund, T. E. Cravens, M. S. Richard, F. J. Crary Magnetospheres of the Outer Planets1359, Monday, July 11, 2011Boston, Massachusetts

  2. Motivation • The ion temperature is tightly coupled with the neutral temperature in the lower ionosphere (Ti = Tn) because of frequent collisions between ions and neutrals; while the electron temperature can be significantly higher due to heating through collisions with super-thermal electrons (Te >> Ti). • Single fluid MHD model only solves one energy (pressure) equation, and it is usually assumed that Te = Ti. Thus the electron temperature and the plasma thermal pressure are usually underestimated in the ionosphere. • It is important to get the right temperature of the electrons since the relative strength of the thermal pressure and upstream flow pressure determine WHETHER the ionosphere is magnetized or unmagnetized. • To calculate more accurately the thermal pressure in the ionosphere, a two fluid model is needed.

  3. Two - Fluid Multi-species MHD Equations (Solved with Michigan BATSRUS Code) • Continuity equation for each ion species • Momentum equation for ion fluid( ) Electron Density is calculated based on Charge neutrality: Electron Velocity:

  4. Two - Fluid Multi-species MHD Equations • Magnetic Induction Equation: • Pressure Equation for ions and electrons:

  5. Reduced Titan Ionospheric Chemistry (7 Species)

  6. Titan Simulation Details Spherical grid: Radial resolution is 16 km to 800 km(~0.3RT) Angular resolution is 2.50 to 5.00 Inner Boundary Conditions Inner boundary at 725 km photochemical equilibrium for ion densities Zero gradient for U and B Ionization Sources Solar radiation (SZA dependent) Magnetospheric electrons (spherically symmetric) X axis is along the corotation direction. Y axis is from Titan to Saturn. Computational domain: -24RT ≤ X ≤ 48RT , -32RT ≤ Y, Z ≤32RT Total cells: 2.0 million A Typical run requires 2000 processor hours* *One human work year

  7. Apply the Two-Fluid MHD Model to an Ideal Case Note: Titan is located at 18 SLT in this ideal case. So the upstream co-rotational plasma would interact directly with the dayside ionosphere of Titan, as in the solar wind-planetary interactions.

  8. Two-Fluid MHD Model Results in the Ideal Case u0 u0 E0 B0 U B U-E Plane U-B Plane Contour plots of plasma flow speed and magnetic field strength in the XY(U-E) and XZ(U-B) planes. The white arrows show projections of flow directions (upper panels) and magnetic field directions (lower panels) in the corresponding plane for the two-fluid MHD model.

  9. Two-Fluid MHD Model vs Single-Fluid MHD Modelin the Ideal Case u0 u0 B0 E0 Pi+Pe (Single-fluid) Pi+Pe (Two-fluid) U-E Plane U-B Plane Contour plots of plasma pressure (Pe+Pi) in the XY(U-E) and XZ(U-B) planes for the single-fluid MHD model (upper panels) and two-fluid MHD model (lower panels). 9

  10. Single-Fluid vs Two Fluid Model Results Pressure profiles along the ram direction for the single fluid (a) and two-fluid (b) models. In each case, the magnetic pressure PB = B2/20, dynamic pressure PD = u2, electron thermal pressure Pe = nekTe, ion thermal pressure Pi = nikTi, plasma thermal pressure PT = Pe + Pi, and total pressure PTOTAL = PB + PD + PT are plotted Significant Differences: -Electron temperature around 1500 km is much higher for two-fluid MHD case due to thermal electron heating. -magnetic field is shielded by the high conducting ionosphere for two-fluid MHD case, while it is penetrating into lower ionosphere for single fluid case.

  11. T34 Flyby: CA Time: JULY 19, 2007 1:11 UT CA Altitude: 1332 km Location of Titan: 18.8 SLT The only upstream, dayside pass. (Venus like) Equatorial Pass

  12. Plasma Parameters for T34 Flyby Note: The upstream plasma parameters are set based on CAPS and MAG observations.

  13. Model and Data Comparison-T34 Flyby Single Fluid MHD Two-Fluid MHD Two fluid MHD model results match better with the magnetic observations. B Data and model comparison of the magnetic field during the T34 flyby for the single-fluid (a) and the two-fluid (b) MHD models. The T34 trajectory is shown by the black squares (10 min interval) and colored with magnetometer measurement.

  14. Data and Model Comparison of Plasma Parameters During the T34 Flyby --The single-fluid (blue) and the two-fluid (red) MHD models results are plotted with the LP and CAPS observations. --The electron density and ion velocity of two-fluid model results are similar with the single-fluid model results --The ion temperature of the two fluid model are the same as the single fluid model inside the ionopause. But the electron temperature of the two-fluid model is much higher than the ion temperature and matches better with the observations inside the ionopause. The vertical purple lines is closest approach (CA). The two vertical dashed lines indicate ionopause locations during inbound and outbound passes.

  15. Data and Model Comparison of the Magnetic Field During the T34 Flyby --The single-fluid (blue) and the two-fluid (red) MHD models results are plotted with the observed (black) magnetic field. --The vertical purple lines is closest approach (CA). The two vertical dashed lines indicate ionopause locations during inbound and outbound passes. --Two fluid model results are different than the single fluid model results inside the ionopause and fit better with the observations.

  16. T34 Flyby-comparison with hybrid results CA - MAG - Hybrid - MAG - MHD Two fluid MHD Model Results (Thermal electron heating is included when calculating electron temperature) Hybrid Simulation Results [Simon et al., 2008] (Electron temperature is assumed to be adiabatic)

  17. Summary • The ion temperature is tightly coupled with the neutral temperature in the lower ionosphere while the electron temperature can be significantly higher due to thermal electron heating. • Two-fluid model solves both the electron and ion pressure equations instead of a single plasma pressure equation, and enables a more accurate evaluation of ion and electron pressures inside Titan’s ionosphere thus better reproduces the magnetic field inside the ionosphere • Simulation results show that the dayside ionosphere thermal pressure is larger than the upstream pressure when Titan is located in the dusk region; thus the magnetic field is shielded by the highly-conducting ionosphere in this situation, similar to the interaction of Venus during solar maximum conditions • Model results show that it is critical to include thermal electron heating in order to reproduce the key features that are observed in the ionosphere by the magnetometer and the Langmuir probe.

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