Observations and Modeling of the Mars Low-Altitude Ionospheric Response to the 10 September 2017 X-Class Solar Flare - INSU - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Geophysical Research Letters Année : 2018

Observations and Modeling of the Mars Low-Altitude Ionospheric Response to the 10 September 2017 X-Class Solar Flare

Shaosui Xu
  • Fonction : Auteur
Ed Thiemann
  • Fonction : Auteur
David Mitchell
Frank Eparvier
  • Fonction : Auteur
David Pawlowski
  • Fonction : Auteur
Mehdi Benna
Laila Andersson
  • Fonction : Auteur
Michael W. Liemohn
  • Fonction : Auteur
Stephen Bougher

Résumé

Solar extreme ultraviolet and X-ray photons are the main sources of ionization in the Martian ionosphere and can be enhanced significantly during a solar flare. On 10 September 2017, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN orbiter observed an X8.2 solar flare, the largest it has encountered to date. Here we investigate the ionospheric response before, during, and after this event with the SuperThermal Electron Transport model. We find good agreement between modeled and measured photoelectron spectra. In addition, the high photoelectron fluxes during the flare provide adequate statistics to allow us to clearly and repeatedly identify the carbon Auger peak in the ionospheric photoelectron energy spectra at Mars for the first time. By applying photochemical equilibrium, O2+ and CO2+ densities are obtained and compared with Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN observations. The variations in ion densities during this event due to the solar irradiance enhancement and the neutral atmosphere expansion are discussed.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
Geophysical Research Letters - 2018 - Xu - Observations and Modeling of the Mars Low%u2010Altitude Ionospheric Response to the.pdf (880.01 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte

Dates et versions

insu-03678187 , version 1 (25-05-2022)

Licence

Copyright (Tous droits réservés)

Identifiants

Citer

Shaosui Xu, Ed Thiemann, David Mitchell, Frank Eparvier, David Pawlowski, et al.. Observations and Modeling of the Mars Low-Altitude Ionospheric Response to the 10 September 2017 X-Class Solar Flare. Geophysical Research Letters, 2018, 45, pp.7382-7390. ⟨10.1029/2018GL078524⟩. ⟨insu-03678187⟩
25 Consultations
9 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More