Suprathermal Magnetospheric Atomic and Molecular Heavy Ions At and Near
Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn: Observations and Identification
Abstract
We compare the long-term suprathermal heavy ion composition measured at
three planets using functionally identical charge-energy-mass ion
spectrometers, one on Geotail, orbiting Earth at ~9-30
Re, the other on Cassini, in interplanetary space, during Jupiter flyby,
and then in orbit around Saturn. O+, a principal suprathermal
(~80-220 keV/e) heavy ion in each magnetosphere, derives
primarily from outflowing ionospheric O+ at Earth, but mostly from
satellites and rings at Jupiter and Saturn. Comparable amounts of
Iogenic O+ and S+ are present at Jupiter. Ions escaping the
magnetospheres are: O+ and S+ at Jupiter; C+, N+, O+, H2O+, CO+(N2+),
and O2+ at Saturn; and N+, O+, N2+, NO+, O2+, and Fe+ at Earth.
Generally, escaped atomic ions (molecular ions, MI) at Earth and Saturn
have similar (higher) ratios to O+ compared to their magnetospheric
ratios; Saturn’s H2O+ and Fe+ ratios are lower. At Earth: after O+ and
N+, ionospheric origin N2+, NO+, and O2+ (with proportions
~0.9:1.0:0.2) dominate magnetospheric heavy ions,
consistent with recent high-altitude/latitude ionospheric measurements
and models; average ion count rates correlate positively with
geomagnetic and solar activity. At ~27-33 amu/e: Earth’s
MIs dominate over lunar pickup ions (PUIs) in the magnetosphere; MIs are
roughly comparable to lunar PUIs in the magnetosheath; and lunar PUIs
dominate over MIs beyond Earth’s bow shock. Lunar PUIs are detected at
~39-48 amu/e in the lobe and possibly in the plasma
sheet at very low levels.