Solar Wind Charge-Exchange X-ray Emissions from the O⁵⁺ Ions in the Earth’s Magnetosheath

Abstract

The spectra and global distributions of the X-ray emissions generated by the solar wind charge-exchange (SWCX) process in the terrestrial magnetosheath are investigated based on a global hybrid model and a global geocoronal hydrogen model. Solar wind O6+ ions, which are the primary charge state for oxygen ions in solar wind, are considered. The line emissivity of the charge-exchange-borne O5+ ions is calculated by the Spectral Analysis System for Astrophysical and Laboratory (SASAL). It is found that the emission lines from O5+ range from 105.607 to 118.291 eV with a strong line at 107.047 eV. We then simulate the magnetosheath X-ray emission intensity distributions with a virtual camera at two positions of the north pole and dusk at six stages during the passing of a perpendicular interplanetary shock combined with a tangential discontinuity structure through the Earth’s magnetosphere. During this process, the X-ray emission intensity increases with time, and the maximum value is 27.11 keV cm−2 s−1 sr−1 on the dayside, which is 4.5 times that before the solar wind structure reached the Earth. A clear shock structure can be seen in the magnetosheath and moves earthward. The maximum emission intensity seen at dusk is always higher than that seen at the north pole.

Keywords

• solar wind charge exchange (SWCX)
• earth magnetosheath
• X-ray spectrum
• interplanetary shock
• bow shock
• magnetopause