kth.sePublications KTH
Change search
Link to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Alternative names
Publications (2 of 2) Show all publications
Edberg, N. J. T., Alho, M., André, M., Andrews, D. J., Behar, E., Burch, J. L., . . . Volwerk, M. (2016). CME impact on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Paper presented at 50th ESLAB Symposium, MAR 14-18, 2016, Leiden, NETHERLANDS. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 462, S45-S56
Open this publication in new window or tab >>CME impact on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Show others...
2016 (English)In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, ISSN 0035-8711, E-ISSN 1365-2966, Vol. 462, p. S45-S56Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

We present Rosetta observations from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the impact of a coronal mass ejection (CME). The CME impacted on 2015 Oct 5-6, when Rosetta was about 800 km from the comet nucleus, and 1.4 au from the Sun. Upon impact, the plasma environment is compressed to the level that solar wind ions, not seen a few days earlier when at 1500 km, now reach Rosetta. In response to the compression, the flux of suprathermal electrons increases by a factor of 5-10 and the background magnetic field strength increases by a factor of similar to 2.5. The plasma density increases by a factor of 10 and reaches 600 cm(-3), due to increased particle impact ionization, charge exchange and the adiabatic compression of the plasma environment. We also observe unprecedentedly large magnetic field spikes at 800 km, reaching above 200 nT, which are interpreted as magnetic flux ropes. We suggest that these could possibly be formed by magnetic reconnection processes in the coma as the magnetic field across the CME changes polarity, or as a consequence of strong shears causing Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the plasma flow. Due to the limited orbit of Rosetta, we are not able to observe if a tail disconnection occurs during the CME impact, which could be expected based on previous remote observations of other CME-comet interactions.

Keywords
Sun: coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar wind, comets: individual: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
National Category
Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-273844 (URN)10.1093/mnras/stw2112 (DOI)000403172000006 ()2-s2.0-85015954646 (Scopus ID)
Conference
50th ESLAB Symposium, MAR 14-18, 2016, Leiden, NETHERLANDS
Funder
Swedish National Space Board, 109/12, 135/13, 166/14, 114/13Swedish Research Council, 621-2013-4191, 621-2014-5526
Note

QC 20200602

Available from: 2020-06-01 Created: 2020-06-01 Last updated: 2024-01-18Bibliographically approved
Edberg, N. J. T., Eriksson, A. I., Odelstad, E., Vigren, E., Andrews, D. J., Johansson, F., . . . Wieser, G. S. (2016). Solar wind interaction with comet 67P: Impacts of corotating interaction regions. Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics, 121(2), 949-965
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Solar wind interaction with comet 67P: Impacts of corotating interaction regions
Show others...
2016 (English)In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics, ISSN 2169-9380, E-ISSN 2169-9402, Vol. 121, no 2, p. 949-965Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

We present observations from the Rosetta Plasma Consortium of the effects of stormy solar wind on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Four corotating interaction regions (CIRs), where the first event has possibly merged with a coronal mass ejection, are traced from Earth via Mars (using Mars Express and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission) to comet 67P from October to December 2014. When the comet is 3.1-2.7AU from the Sun and the neutral outgassing rate approximate to 10(25)-10(26)s(-1), the CIRs significantly influence the cometary plasma environment at altitudes down to 10-30km. The ionospheric low-energy (approximate to 5eV) plasma density increases significantly in all events, by a factor of >2 in events 1 and 2 but less in events 3 and 4. The spacecraft potential drops below -20V upon impact when the flux of electrons increases. The increased density is likely caused by compression of the plasma environment, increased particle impact ionization, and possibly charge exchange processes and acceleration of mass-loaded plasma back to the comet ionosphere. During all events, the fluxes of suprathermal (approximate to 10-100eV) electrons increase significantly, suggesting that the heating mechanism of these electrons is coupled to the solar wind energy input. At impact the magnetic field strength in the coma increases by a factor of 2-5 as more interplanetary magnetic field piles up around the comet. During two CIR impact events, we observe possible plasma boundaries forming, or moving past Rosetta, as the strong solar wind compresses the cometary plasma environment. We also discuss the possibility of seeing some signatures of the ionospheric response to tail disconnection events.

Keywords
Rosetta, solar wind, corotating interaction region, ionosphere, CME, RPC
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-273846 (URN)10.1002/2015JA022147 (DOI)000373002100003 ()2-s2.0-84959285406 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish National Space Board, 109/02, 135/13, 166/14, 114/13Swedish Research Council, 621-2013-4191, 621-2014-5526
Note

QC 20200818

Available from: 2020-06-01 Created: 2020-06-01 Last updated: 2022-06-26Bibliographically approved
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-7933-0322

Search in DiVA

Show all publications