Magnetic storms in Mercury's magnetosphere  

作　　者：ZONG QiuGang ZHAO JiuTong LIU JianJun FU SuiYan SUN WeiJie ZHANG Hui LE Guan RANKIN Robert WEI Yong 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology,Peking University,Beijing 100871 China [2]Polar Research Institute of China,Shanghai 2000136,China [3]Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering,University of Michigan,Ann Arbor 48109,USA [4]Geophysical Institute,University of Alaska Fairbanks,Fairbanks 99775,USA [5]ITM Laboratory,Heliophysics Science Division,NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt 20771,USA [6]Department of Physics,University of Alberta,Edmonton T6G2R3,Canada [7]Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,China

出　　处：《Science China(Technological Sciences)》2022年第6期1427-1432,共6页中国科学（技术科学英文版）

基　　金：supported by Major Project of Chinese National Programs for Fundamental Research and Development(Grant No.2021YFA0718600);China Space Agency Project(Grant No.D020301);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.42011530080);financial support from the Canadian Space Agency and NSERC;partially supported by National Science Foundation(Grant No.AGS-1352669)。

摘　　要：We present evidence of geomagnetic storms in Mercury’s magnetosphere based on MESSENGER magnetic field observations made just before the probe impacted the planet.Our findings answer the question of whether geomagnetic storms can occur in other planetary magnetospheres.The interaction of the solar wind with Mercury’s magnetosphere is known to involve flux transfer events in the dayside magnetosphere,plasmoids and flux ropes in the magnetotail,and substorm-like processes,all of which occur morphologically similar to Earth but with significant differences.The significantly weaker magnetic field,smaller magnetosphere,and much faster timescale of processes around Mercury,when compared with Earth,enable charged particles to escape its magnetosphere more efficiently through magnetopause shadowing and direct bombard of the surface.Our analysis of MESSENGER’s data during a coronal mass ejection(CME)proves that,despite these substantial differences,a bifurcated ring current can form in Mercury’s magnetosphere that initiates magnetic storms under strong solar wind driving.

关 键 词：magnetic storm Mercury magnetosphere ring current 

分 类 号：P185.1[天文地球—天文学]