Friday, January 24, 2025 at 12:15 pm

JILA Foothills Room

Parker Hinton, CU Boulder

"Atmospheric Ion Escape and Deposition on Terrestrial Planets"

Abstract:

We use a global hybrid plasma model (RHybrid) to quantify the escape of H+ and O+ from the atmospheres of differently sized planets (R = 3,390 km to 9,390 km). We find that the morphologies of each escaping ion plume respond to changes in the planetary radius in a predictable manner. These results suggest that the problem of atmospheric ion escape on unmagnetized planets may be generalizable in analytical terms. We use modeling results to inform a derivation of a set of analytical equations for atmospheric ion escape using conservation of energy flux. We compare predictions from these equations with modeling and spacecraft measurements and find good agreement. Our results suggest that Mercury, Venus and Mars operate in a similar regime, and that Earth’s magnetic field is not required in order for atmospheric retention.

Back to Speakers