The Physics Behind Degenerate Induced Magnetospheres

The induced magnetospheres of unmagnetized planets, Mars and Venus, are created by ionospheric currents driven by the convective electric field of the solar wind.

If the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is parallel to the solar wind velocity, the convective field vanishes, and an induced magnetosphere degenerates.

The pre-proposal pilot study discovered a very complex structure of this interaction region and revealed its main domains and boundaries such as cross-flow plume, upstream ion cloud, flank shock, and night-side proton void. We aim to investigate and establish physical mechanisms that form and maintain these unique features.

We focus on Mars and complete the project by comparing the structure of the Martian degenerate induced magnetospehere with the Venus’ case. Degenerate induced magnetospheres are unique and unexplored type of the interaction with the solar wind.

While they are relatively rare in the solar system, this type of the interaction is nominal for unmagnetized exoplanets as majority of them locates at a distance of 0.01 to 0.2 au from the parent star where IMF is almost parallel to the stellar wind. We apply for a 4-year PhD position (2025-28).

The project’s main research method is the comparison of observations from particle instruments onboard Mars Express, MAVEN, and Venus Express missions with runs of the global hybrid model of the solar wind – Mars interaction. Both data and the model are available and free to use.