Orateur
Description
The Mercury plasma environment is enriched in heavy ions from photo-ionization of the neutral exosphere. The time-of-flight spectrometer FIPS onboard the MESSENGER spacecraft has detected many planetary ion species, of which He$^{+}$, the Na$^{+}$-group (including Na$^{+}$, Mg$^{+}$ and Si$^{+}$) and the O$^{+}$-group (including O$^{+}$ and several water group ions) are the most abundant. Previous models of the planetary ion distribution inside Mercury's magnetosphere have concentrated on the abundant Na$^{+}$ and H$^{+}$ ion populations. Comparison with FIPS data has been limited to the first two MESSENGER flybys. We have developed a test-particle model which describes the full 3D distribution of several planetary ion species which are derived from the neutral exosphere. The global ion density and energy distribution of Na$^{+}$, O$^{+}$ and He$^{+}$ will be presented here. We will also describe the orbital evolution of the Na$^{+}$ ion density.
| Field | Planetology (incuding small bodies and exoplanets) |
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