Electron Physics in 3-D Two-Fluid 10-Moment Modeling of Ganymede's Magnetosphere

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

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

We studied the role of electron physics in 3-D two-fluid 10-moment simulation of Ganymede's magnetosphere. The model captures nonideal physics like the Hall effect, electron inertia, and anisotropic, nongyrotropic 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 nongyrotropy 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. 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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2815-2830
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Volume123
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Space and Planetary Science
  • Geophysics

Keywords

  • Galileo
  • Ganymede
  • fluid simulation
  • kinetic simulation
  • magnetic reconnection
  • magnetosphere simulation

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