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Measurements of the Net Charge Density of Space Plasmas
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  • Chao Shen,
  • Yufei Zhou,
  • Lai Gao,
  • Zuyin Pu,
  • Xiaogang Wang,
  • C. Philippe Escoubet,
  • J. L. Burch
Chao Shen
School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Yufei Zhou
School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology
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Lai Gao
School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology
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Zuyin Pu
School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University
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Xiaogang Wang
School of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology
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C. Philippe Escoubet
ESA/ESTEC
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J. L. Burch
Southwest Research Institute
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Abstract

Space plasmas are composed of charged particles that play a key role in electromagnetic dynamics. However, to date, there has been no direct measurement of the distribution of such charges in space. In this study, three schemes for measuring charge densities in space are proposed. The first scheme is based on electric field measurements by multiple spacecraft. This method is applied to deduce the charge density distribution within Earth’s magnetopause boundary layer using Magnetospheric MultiScale constellation (MMS) 4-point measurements, and indicates the existence of a charge separation there. The second and third schemes proposed are both based on electric potential measurements from multiple electric probes. The second scheme, which requires 10 or more electric potential probes, can yield the net charge density to first-order accuracy, while the third scheme, which makes use of seven to eight specifically distributed probes, can give the net charge density with second-order accuracy. The feasibility, reliability, and accuracy of these three schemes are successfully verified for a charged-ball model. These charge density measurement schemes could potentially be applied in both space exploration and ground-based laboratory experiments.
Dec 2021Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics volume 126 issue 12. 10.1029/2021JA029511