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MAVEN Observation of an Obliquely Propagating Low-Frequency Wave Upstream of MarsWe report Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission observations of a large amplitude low-frequency plasma wave that propagated oblique to the ambient magnetic field upstream of Mars along with a non-solar-wind plasma component that had a flow velocity perpendicular to the magnetic field. We consider nine possibilities for this wave that include various combinations of its propagation direction, polarization in the solar wind frame, and ion source responsible for its generation. Using the observed wave parameters and the measured plasma parameters as constraints, we uniquely identify the wave by systematically discarding these possibilities. We determine that the wave is a right-hand polarized wave that propagated upstream in the solar wind frame. We find two possibilities for the ion source that can be responsible for this wave generation. They are either newly born pickup protons or reflected solar wind protons from the bow shock.We determine that the observed non-solar-wind component is not responsible for the wave generation, and it is likely that the non-solar-wind component was merely perturbed by the passage of the wave.
Document ID
20170002350
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Ruhunusiri, Suranga
(Iowa Univ. Iowa City, IA, United States)
Halekas, J. S.
(Iowa Univ. Iowa City, IA, United States)
Connerney, J. E. P.
(Adnet Systems, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Espley, J. R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
McFadden, J. P.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Mazelle, C.
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Toulouse, France)
Brain, D.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Collinson, G.
(Adnet Systems, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Harada, Y.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Larson, D. E.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Mitchell, D. L.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Livi, R.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Jakosky, B. M.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Date Acquired
March 17, 2017
Publication Date
March 29, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Publisher: WILEY
Volume: 121
Issue: 3
ISSN: 2169-9380
e-ISSN: 2169-9402
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Solar Physics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN40132
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG11PL10A
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG12PL17C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
low frequency wave
plama
mars
solar wind frame
MAVEN
obliquely
upstream

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