Plasma processes in the inner comaThe physical processes that determine the plasma behavior in the inner coma region of active comets are reviewed. Results of observations of the plasma and fields inside the cometopause of Comets Halley and Giacobini-Zinner by instruments on board several spacecraft are presented. Several plasma populations are found to exist in the inner coma. The characteristics of a particular population are largely determined by how far upstream the population was created. All particle populations in the inner coma are strongly affected by collisional processes, such as charge-transfer, ion-neutral chemistry, ion-neutral friction, and thermal cooling. Plasma processes, in the form of magnetohydrodynamics, are also important in the inner coma.
Document ID
19930029599
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Cravens, T. E. (Kansas Univ. Lawrence, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1991
Publication Information
Publication: In: Comets in the post-Halley era. Vol. 2 (A93-13551 02-90)