Quantitative analysis on the coupling between planetward and ionospheric tailward ion flow in the Martian magnetotail

Principal Investigator: Dr. Li Kun

Period：2023.1-2023.12

Project Description:

Material exchange commonly takes place between the ionosphere of the Mars and its magnetosphere. A large amount of ionospheric ions can escape from the Mars and lost into the magnetosphere. On the other hand, marsward ion flows are usually observed. The loss of water due to the net ion escape is considered to be the main reason why water appearances in the Martian atmosphere. Thus, the marsward ion flow plays a role in the evolution of the Martian atmosphere. It is considered that the marsward ion flow is mainly stemmed from the plasma sheet and the solar wind particle precipitation. Both two mechanisms enhance ion escape rate. In return, the enhancement in ion escape rate can possibly change the marsward ion flow rate. However, it is not clear how the marsward ion flow from the plasma sheet and the solar wind are coupled with the ionospheric outflow. In this study, we calculate the correlation coefficients between the precipitations of ions and electrons from the solar wind and plasma return flow from the plasma sheet. The results from the calculation can be used to understand the coupling of ion outflow and ion return flow, and is promising to explain the discrepancy in return ion flow on Mars from that on Venus.