A corrector for spacecraft calculated electron moments

J. Geach (1) , S. J. Schwartz (1) , Vincent Génot (2) , O. Moullard (1) , A. Lahiff (3) , A. N. Fazakerley (3)

1 Space Plasma Group
2 CESR - Centre d'étude spatiale des rayonnements
3 MSSL - Mullard Space Science Laboratory

We present the application of a numerical method to correct electron moments calculated on-board spacecraft from the effects of potential broadening and energy range truncation. Assuming a shape for the natural distribution of the ambient plasma and employing the scalar approximation, the on-board moments can be represented as non-linear integral functions of the underlying distribution. We have implemented an algorithm which inverts this system successfully over a wide range of parameters for an assumed underlying drifting Maxwellian distribution. The outputs of the solver are the corrected electron plasma temperature T_e, density N_e and velocity vector V_e. We also make an estimation of the temperature anisotropy A of the distribution. We present corrected moment data from Cluster's PEACE experiment for a range of plasma environments and make comparisons with electron and ion data from other Cluster instruments, as well as the equivalent ground-based calculations using full 3-D distribution PEACE telemetry.

Domains: Ocean, Atmosphere; Earth Sciences

J. Geach, S. J. Schwartz, Vincent Génot, O. Moullard, A. Lahiff, et al.. A corrector for spacecraft calculated electron moments. Annales Geophysicae, 2005, 23 (3), pp.931-943. ⟨hal-00329382v2⟩