Enhanced Acceleration and Escape of Hydrogen Pickup Ions Upstream from Mars by Interplanetary Shocks

Abstract

The pickup process of newly ionized hydrogen (H) from the Martian extended exosphere represents an important H ^+ escape channel on Mars. It is generally believed that interplanetary (IP) shocks can accelerate the pickup ions and, in turn, affect the pickup process. However, the underlying processes inherent to the acceleration are not yet fully understood. Here, we concentrate on the dynamic processes involved in acceleration arising from IP shock compression. We examine two typical IP shock events characterized by a sudden increase in the average energy of upstream H ^+ pickup ions across the shock. The H ^+ pickup ions continuously enter the field of view of Supra-Thermal And Thermal Ion Composition or Solar Wind Ion Analyzer on board the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft in a narrow angular range. Moreover, they correspond to a similar part of their respective ring distributions in velocity space. By comparing measured and theoretical H ^+ pickup ion energies, we attribute the more energetic H ^+ pickup ions to the enhanced convection electric field acceleration caused by the shock compression. An increase in the guiding center drift speed across the shock implies a higher escape rate of the H ^+ pickup ions. Furthermore, the pitch-angle scattering could facilitate the escape of the higher energy H ^+ pickup ions from Mars. The results may shed light on the understanding of the energization and escape of planetary pickup ions in the solar system.

Keywords

• Mars
• Pickup ions
• Interplanetary shocks