ePubs
The open archive for STFC research publications
Home
About ePubs
Content Policies
News
Help
Privacy/Cookies
Suggest an Enhancement
Contact ePubs
Full Record Details
Persistent URL
http://purl.org/net/epubs/work/23263220
Record Status
Checked
Record Id
23263220
Title
Formation of Lunar Swirls
Contributors
RA Bamford (STFC Rutherford Appleton Lab.)
,
EP Alves
,
F Cruz
,
BJ Kellett (STFC Rutherford Appleton Lab.)
,
RA Fonseca
,
LO Silva
,
RMGM Trines (STFC Rutherford Appleton Lab.)
,
JS Halekas
,
G Kramer
,
E Harnett
,
RA Cairns
,
R Bingham (STFC Rutherford Appleton Lab.)
Abstract
In this paper we show a plausible mechanism that could lead to the formation of the Dark Lanes in Lunar Swirls, and the electromagnetic shielding of the lunar surface that results in the preservation of the white colour of the lunar regolith. We present the results of a fully self-consistent 2 and 3 dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of mini-magnetospheres that form above the lunar surface and show that they are consistent with the formation of `lunar swirls' such as the archetypal formation Reiner Gamma. The simulations show how the microphysics of the deflection/shielding of plasma operates from a kinetic-scale cavity, and show that this interaction leads to a footprint with sharp features that could be the mechanism behind the generation of `dark lanes'. The physics of mini-magnetospheres is described and shown to be controlled by space-charge fields arising due to the magnetized electrons and unmagnetized ions. A comparison between model and observation is shown for a number of key plasma parameters.
Organisation
CLF
,
STFC
,
RALSP
Keywords
Funding Information
Related Research Object(s):
Licence Information:
Language
English (EN)
Type
Details
URI(s)
Local file(s)
Year
Preprint
Astrophys J
2015.
arXiv:1505.06304v1
2015
Showing record 1 of 1
Recent Additions
Browse Organisations
Browse Journals/Series
Login to add & manage publications and access information for OA publishing
Username:
Password:
Useful Links
Chadwick & RAL Libraries
SHERPA FACT
SHERPA RoMEO
SHERPA JULIET
Journal Checker Tool
Google Scholar