Dust in the interplanetary medium
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Discipline
Physical sciences
Subject
Charge-to-mass ratios
Data analysis
Dust particle
Electric signal
Electromagnetic forces
Interplanetary medium
Mass densities
Micrometer sizes
Plasma wave instruments
Solar corona
Solar wind velocity
STEREO spacecraft
Astrophysics
Dust
Interplanetary spacecraft
Magnetic field effects
Plasma waves
Solar wind
Solar system
Audience
Scientific
Date
2010Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
The mass density of dust particles that form from asteroids and comets in the interplanetary medium of the solar system is, near 1 AU, comparable to the mass density of the solar wind. It is mainly contained in particles of micrometer size and larger. Dust and larger objects are destroyed by collisions and sublimation and hence feed heavy ions into the solar wind and the solar corona. Small dust particles are present in large number and as a result of their large charge to mass ratio deflected by electromagnetic forces in the solar wind. For nanodust particles of sizes sime1–10 nm, recent calculations show trapping near the Sun and outside from about 0.15 AU ejection with velocities close to solar wind velocity. The fluxes of ejected nanodust are detected near 1 AU with the plasma wave instrument onboard the STEREO spacecraft. Although such electric signals have been observed during dust impacts before, the interpretation depends on several different parameters and data analysis is still in progress.
Citation
Mann, I.; Czechowski, A.; Meyer-Vernet, N.; Zaslavsky, A.; Lamy, H. (2010). Dust in the interplanetary medium. , Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 52, Issue 12, 124012, DOI: 10.1088/0741-3335/52/12/124012.Identifiers
scopus: 2-s2.0-78649997090
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng