” A spacecraft communicates with its environment, which results in a build-up of charge on the surface of the spacecraft. This is troublesome for the measurements of low-energy ions, considering that the ions are impacted by the spacecraft prior to they are discovered, altering both their energy and travel direction. We would like to know the original homes of the ions, prior to they were affected by the spacecraft, which is now possible with the approach that I have actually developed in my thesis,” Sofia Bergman explains.
In the thesis, data from IRFs ion mass spectrometer ICA (Ion Composition Analyzer) on board Rosetta have actually been evaluated. ICA can determine the energy and travel direction of ions with really low energies, but due to the fact that of the influence of the spacecraft potential on the measurements the low-energy data from ICA have previously been tough to translate.
” For the very first time, we have actually now had the ability to determine the circulation instructions of low-energy ions observed by ICA at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko,” Sofia Bergman says. “The outcomes were unexpected. We see a large amount of ions flowing inward towards the comet nucleus, instead of external as we had actually anticipated.”
Comets are interesting to study when we wish to comprehend how the solar wind is engaging with various bodies in the Solar System. The comets elliptical orbits cause the environment around them to alter considerably. As the distance from the comet to the Sun modifications, we can observe how a magnetosphere is being formed around the comet. Low-energy ions are very important for this interaction and not only at comets:
“The approach that I have actually established in my thesis can also be used to study low-energy ions around other bodies in the Solar System. The analysis of such ions has formerly been extremely limited due to the problems of analyzing the measurements,” states Sofia Bergman.
Sofia Bergman was born and raised in Borlänge, Sweden.
Sofia Bergmans thesis offers researchers special possibilities to study low-energy ions in space. låg energi. Credit: Institutet för rymdfysik
Sofia Bergman, Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) and Umeå University, protected her doctoral thesis on low-energy ions around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 26, 2021. Using her work, researchers can study low-energy ions around comets and in a range of other places in the Solar System.
Comets have an environment of plasma which consists of a large number of ions with low energies. It is essential to understand these low-energy ions homes in order to understand the physical processes happening around the comet.
As low-energy ions are difficult to determine Sofia Bergman developed a new approach to evaluate measurements of these ions around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in her thesis.
Sofia Bergman, Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) and Umeå University, safeguarded her doctoral thesis on low-energy ions around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on November 26, 2021. Using her work, researchers can study low-energy ions around comets and in a range of other locations in the Solar System.
” For the very first time, we have actually now been able to determine the flow directions of low-energy ions observed by ICA at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko,” Sofia Bergman states. Low-energy ions are crucial for this interaction and not just at comets: