Space and Planetary Science; , mars, aurora, proton, excitation processes
Abstract :
[en] Proton aurora are the most commonly observed yet least studied type of aurora at Mars. In order to better understand the physics and driving processes of Martian proton aurora, we undertake a multi‐model comparison campaign. We compare results from four different proton/hydrogen precipitation models with unique abilities to represent Martian proton aurora: Jolitz model (3‐D Monte Carlo), Kallio model (3‐D Monte Carlo), Bisikalo/Shematovich et al. model (1‐D kinetic Monte Carlo), and Gronoff et al. model (1‐D kinetic). This campaign is divided into two steps: an inter‐model comparison and a data‐model comparison. The inter‐model comparison entails modeling five different representative cases using similar constraints in order to better understand the capabilities and limitations of each of the models. Through this step we find that the two primary variables affecting proton aurora are the incident solar wind particle flux and velocity. In the data‐model comparison, we assess the robustness of each model based on its ability to reproduce a proton aurora observation. All models are able to effectively simulate the general shape of the data. Variations in modeled intensity and peak altitude can be attributed to differences in model capabilities/solving techniques and input assumptions (e.g., cross sections, 3‐D vs. 1‐D solvers, and implementation of the relevant physics and processes). The good match between the observations and multiple models gives a measure of confidence that the appropriate physical processes and their associated parameters have been correctly identified and provides insight into the key physics that should be incorporated in future models.
Research center :
STAR - Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research - ULiège [BE]
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Hughes, Andréa C. G. ; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USA ; Department of Physics & Astronomy Howard University Washington DC USA ; Center for Space and Atmospheric Research (CSAR) and the Department of Physical Sciences Embry‐Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach FL USA
Chaffin, Michael ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder CO USA
Mierkiewicz, Edwin ; Center for Space and Atmospheric Research (CSAR) and the Department of Physical Sciences Embry‐Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach FL USA
Deighan, Justin ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder CO USA
Jolitz, Rebecca D.; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder CO USA
Kallio, Esa ; Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering School of Electrical Engineering Aalto University Espoo Finland
Gronoff, Guillaume ; NASA Langley Research Center Hampton VA USA ; Science Systems and Application Inc. Hampton VA USA
Shematovich, Valery ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP) ; Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow Russia
Bisikalo, Dmitry ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP) ; Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow Russia ; National Center for Physics and Mathematics Moscow Russia
Halekas, Jasper ; Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Iowa Iowa City IA USA
Simon Wedlund, Cyril ; Space Research Institute Austrian Academy of Sciences Graz Austria
Schneider, Nicholas ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder CO USA
Ritter, Birgit ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP) ; Royal Observatory of Belgium Brussels Belgium
Girazian, Zachary ; Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Iowa Iowa City IA USA
Jain, Sonal ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder CO USA
Gérard, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP) ; Royal Observatory of Belgium Brussels Belgium
Hegyi, Bradley ; NASA Langley Research Center Hampton VA USA ; Science Systems and Application Inc. Hampton VA USA
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