Foil optimization for low energy neutral atom imaging

Magnetospheric imaging has been proposed using remote detection of low energy neutral atoms (LENAs) of magnetospheric origin. In the detector, LENAs can be removed from the immense ambient EUV by charge modification (ionization) using a carbon stripping foil and can be subsequently deflected into an E/q analysis section. The detector sensitivity efficiency of LENAs is highly dependent on the ionization probability of neutrals as they transit the carbon foil. In this study, we present equilibrium charge state distributions and scatter distributions for 1-30 keV atomic hydrogen and oxygen transiting 0.5 {mu}g cm{sup {minus}2} carbon foils. The fraction of hydrogen exiting a foil as H{sup +} ranges from approximately 5% at 1 keV to 41% at 30 keV. The fraction of oxygen exiting the foil as O{sup +} ranges from 2% at 10 keV to 8% at 30 keV. Results obtained after coating the exit surface of foils with either aluminum (which forms aluminum oxide when exposed to air) or gold suggests that the exit surface chemistry has no effect on the charge state distributions due to foil contamination from exposure to air. Scattering resulting from the atom-foil interaction is shown to be independent of the charge state distribution, suggesting that the interaction mechanisms resulting in charge exchange and scattering are distinctly different

Nuclear and electronic energy loss by 1 keV to 60 keV ions in silicon : comparison of measurement to SRIM

Comparison of TRIM simulations with measurements of the energy lost to electronic and nuclear stopping processes using 1 00% internal carrier collection efficiency silicon photodiodes shows a large, systematic overestimation by TRIM of electronic energy loss

Origin of two-band chorus in the radiation belt of Earth.

Naturally occurring chorus emissions are a class of electromagnetic waves found in the space environments of the Earth and other magnetized planets. They play an essential role in accelerating high-energy electrons forming the hazardous radiation belt environment. Chorus typically occurs in two distinct frequency bands separated by a gap. The origin of this two-band structure remains a 50-year old question. Here we report, using NASA's Van Allen Probe measurements, that banded chorus waves are commonly accompanied by two separate anisotropic electron components. Using numerical simulations, we show that the initially excited single-band chorus waves alter the electron distribution immediately via Landau resonance, and suppress the electron anisotropy at medium energies. This naturally divides the electron anisotropy into a low and a high energy components which excite the upper-band and lower-band chorus waves, respectively. This mechanism may also apply to the generation of chorus waves in other magnetized planetary magnetospheres

Near-Earth injection of MeV electrons associated with intense dipolarization electric fields: Van Allen Probes observations.

Substorms generally inject tens to hundreds of keV electrons, but intense substorm electric fields have been shown to inject MeV electrons as well. An intriguing question is whether such MeVelectron injections can populate the outer radiation belt. Here we present observations of a substorm injection of MeV electrons into the inner magnetosphere. In the premidnight sector at L ∼ 5.5, Van Allen Probes (Radiation Belt Storm Probes)-A observed a large dipolarization electric field (50 mV/m) over ∼40 s and a dispersionless injection of electrons up to ∼3 MeV. Pitch angle observations indicated betatron acceleration of MeV electrons at the dipolarization front. Corresponding signals of MeV electron injection were observed at LANL-GEO, THEMIS-D, and GOES at geosynchronous altitude. Through a series of dipolarizations, the injections increased the MeV electron phase space density by 1 order of magnitude in less than 3 h in the outer radiation belt (L > 4.8). Our observations provide evidence that deep injections can supply significant MeV electrons

Whence the interstellar magnetic field shaping the heliosphere?

Measurements of starlight polarized by aligned interstellar dust grains are used to probe the relation between the orientation of the ambient interstellar magnetic field (ISMF) and the ISMF traced by the ribbons of energetic neutral atoms discovered by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer spacecraft. We utilize polarization data, many acquired specifically for this study, to trace the configuration of the ISMF within 40 pc. A statistical analysis yields a best-fit ISMF orientation, B (magpol), aligned with Galactic coordinates l = 42 degrees, b = 49 degrees. Further analysis shows the ISMF is more orderly for "downfield" stars located over 90 degrees from B (magpol). The data subset of downfield stars yields an orientation for the nearby ISMF at ecliptic coordinates lambda, beta approximate to 219 degrees +/- 15 degrees, 43 degrees +/- 9 degrees (Galactic coordinates l, b approximate to 40 degrees, 56 degrees, +/- 17 degrees). This best-fit ISMF orientation from polarization data is close to the field direction obtained from ribbon models. This agreement suggests that the ISMF shaping the heliosphere belongs to an extended ordered magnetic field. Extended filamentary structures are found throughout the sky. A previously discovered filament traversing the heliosphere nose region, "Filament A," extends over 300 degrees of the sky, and crosses the upwind direction of interstellar dust flowing into the heliosphere. Filament A overlaps the locations of the Voyager kilohertz emissions, three quasar intraday variables, cosmic microwave background (CMB) components, and the inflow direction of interstellar grains sampled by Ulysses and Galileo. These features are likely located in the upstream outer heliosheath where ISMF drapes over the heliosphere, suggesting Filament A coincides with a dusty magnetized plasma. A filament 55 degrees long is aligned with a possible shock interface between local interstellar clouds. A dark spot in the CMB is seen within 5 degrees of the filament and within 10 degrees of the downfield ISMF direction. Two large magnetic arcs are centered on the directions of the heliotail. The overlap between CMB components and the aligned dust grains forming Filament A indicates the configuration of dust entrained in the ISMF interacting with the heliosphere provides a measurable foreground to the CMB

Mid-latitude composition of mars from thermal and epithermal neutrons

Epithermal neutron data acquired by Mars Odyssey have been analyzed to determine global maps of water-equivalent hydrogen abundance. By assuming that hydrogen was distributed uniformly with depth within the surface, a map of minimum water abundance was obtained. The addition of thermal neutrons to this analysis could provide information needed to determine water stratigraphy. For example, thermal and epithermal neutrons have been used together to determine the depth and abundance of waterequivalent hydrogen of a buried layer in the south polar region. Because the emission of thermal neutrons from the Martian surface is sensitive to absorption by elements other than hydrogen, analysis of stratigraphy requires that the abundance of these elements be known. For example, recently published studies of the south polar region assumed that the Mars Pathfinder mean soil composition is representative of the regional soil composition, This assumption is partially motivated by the fact that Mars appears to have a well-mixed global dust cover and that the Pathfinder soil composition is representative of the mean composition of the Martian surface. In this study, we have analyzed thermal and epithermal neutron data measured by the neutron spectrometer subsystem of the gamma ray spectrometer to determine the spatial distribution of the composition of elements other than hydrogen. We have restricted our analysis to mid-latitude regions for which we have corrected the neutron counting data for variations in atmospheric thickness

Erosion of thin carbon foils by 20 keV and 40 keV Ar{sup +} irradiation

Nominal 2 {mu}g/cm{sup 2} C foils were irradiated with 20 and 40 keV Ar{sup +} ions at fluences up to 1.1x10{sup 16} Ar{sup +}/cm{sup 2}. Foil erosion (determined by measuring changes in angular scatter distribution of 2-keV protons transiting the foil) is observed to reach a constant rate of 3.5 C atoms removed per incident Ar{sup +}. The independence of the sputter yield on foil thickness indicates that interactions leading to sputtering occur within a depth of 0.5 {mu}g/cm{sup 2} of the sputter surface. Using theoretical and TRIM estimates for the backwater sputtering yield, the transmission sputtering yield is a factor of 3-16 times larger than the backward sputtering yield. The fraction of holes created in the foil by Ar{sup +} irradiation linearly increases with fluence above a fluence of 4x10{sup 15} Ar{sup +}/cm{sup 2}, and the foil lifetime is 8.7x10{sup 15} Ar{sup +}/cm{sup 2}

Advanced satellite sensors: Low Energy Neutral Atom (LENA) imager

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Imaging of low energy neutral atoms (LENDs) created by electron capture by magnetospheric plasma ions from interactions with cold geocoronal neutrals promises to be a revolutionary technique for providing unprecedented information about the global structure and dynamics of the terrestrial magnetosphere. This has significant implications in space weather forecasting, weather-induced satellite upset diagnostics, and revolutionary insights into global magnetospheric physics. The Los Alamos Space and Atmospheric Sciences Group has completed extensive neutral atom simulations and detailed instrument definition, and we designed a proof-of-concept demonstration prototype and have obtained externally- funded programs for full instrument developmen