Информация о цитировании статьи получена из
Web of Science,
Scopus
Статья опубликована в журнале из списка Web of Science и/или Scopus
Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 18 июля 2013 г.
Аннотация:A new ‘‘Paraboloidal’’ model of Mercury’s magnetospheric magnetic field based
upon the earlier terrestrial model and using similar techniques is developed. The model
describes the field of Mercury’s dipole, which is considered to be offset from the
planet’s center; the magnetopause currents driven by the solar wind; and the tail current
system including the cross-tail currents and their closure currents at the magnetopause.
The effect of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is modeled as a partial
penetration of the IMF into the magnetosphere. The goals of the present work are (1) to
develop an easily usable, yet robust model of Mercury’s magnetospheric magnetic field
and (2) to produce an improved ‘‘unified’’ determination of Mercury’s magnetic dipole
moment which fits the measurements taken during both Mariner 10’s first and third
flybys. This new model of Mercury’s magnetosphere is described and used to determine
a best Mercury magnetic dipole moment of 192 nT RM 3 , from the two Mariner 10 flybys,
a value which is intermediate between the various estimates produced by previous
models. The best fit to the Mariner 10 measurements gives the dipole offset 0.18 RM
above the equatorial plane. The new Paraboloidal model is used to predict the
configuration of this miniature magnetosphere under average and extreme solar wind
conditions.