Response in electrostatic analyzers due to backscattered electrons: case study analysis with the Juno Jovian Auroral Distribution Experiment-Electron instrument.

In this study, we introduce a model to characterize electron scattering in an electrostatic analyzer. We show that electrons between 0.5 and 30 keV scatter from internal surfaces to produce a response up to ~20% of the ideal, unscattered response. We compare our model results to laboratory data from the Jovian Auroral Distribution Experiment-Electron sensor onboard the NASA Juno mission. Our model reproduces the measured energy-angle response of the instrument well. Understanding and quantifying this scattering process is beneficial to the analysis of scientific data as well as future instrument optimization.

Reflections of ions in electrostatic analyzers: a case study with New Horizons/Solar Wind Around Pluto.

Electrostatic analyzers (ESAs), in various forms, are used to measure plasma in a range of applications. In this article, we describe how ions reflect from the interior surfaces of an ESA, the detection of which constitutes a fundamentally nonideal response of ESAs. We demonstrate this effect by comparing laboratory data from a real ESA-based space instrument, the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument, aboard the NASA New Horizons spacecraft, to results from a model based on quantum mechanical simulations of particles reflected from the instrument's surfaces combined with simulations of particle trajectories through the instrument's applied electrostatic fields. Thus, we show, for the first time, how reflected ions in ESAs lead to nonideal effects that have important implications for understanding the data returned by these instruments, as well as for designing new low-background ESA-based instruments. Specifically, we show that the response of SWAP widens considerably below a level of 10(-3) of the peak response. Thus, a direct measurement of a plasma distribution with SWAP will have an energy-dependent background on the order of ≤10(-3) of the peak of the signal due to that distribution. We predict that this order of magnitude estimate for the background applies to a large number of ESA-based instruments because ESAs operate using a common principle. However, the exact shape of the energy-dependent response will be different for different instruments. The principle of operation is that ions outside the ideal range of energy-per-charge are deflected into the walls of the ESA. Therefore, we propose that a new design paradigm is necessary to mitigate the effect of ion reflections and thus accurately and directly measure the energy spectrum of a plasma using ESAs. In this article, we build a framework for minimizing the effect of ion reflections in the design of new ESAs. Through the use of existing computer simulation software, a design team can use our method to quantify the amount of reflections in their instrument and iteratively change design parameters before fabrication, conserving resources. A possible direction for the new design paradigm is having nonsolid walls of the ESA, already used in some applications.

The entrance system laboratory prototype for an advanced mass and ionic charge composition experiment.

Electrostatic analyzers (ESA) have been used extensively for the characterization of plasmas in a variety of space environments. They vary in shape, geometry, and size and are adapted to the specific particle population to be measured and the configuration of the spacecraft. Their main function is to select the energy per charge of the particles within a passband. An energy-per-charge range larger than that of the passband can be sampled by varying the voltage difference between the ESA electrodes. The voltage sweep takes time and reduces the duty cycle for a particular energy-per-charge passband. Our design approach for an advanced mass and ionic charge composition experiment (AMICCE) has a novel electrostatic analyzer that essentially serves as a spectrograph and selects ions simultaneously over a broad range of energy-per-charge (E/q). Only three voltage settings are required to cover the entire range from approximately 10 to 270 keV/q, thus dramatically increasing the product of the geometric factor times the duty cycle when compared with other instruments. In this paper, we describe the AMICCE concept with particular emphasis on the prototype of the entrance system (ESA and collimator), which we designed, developed, and tested. We also present comparisons of the laboratory results with electrostatic simulations.

Structures and spectral variations of the outer heliosphere in IBEX energetic neutral atom maps.

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has obtained all-sky images of energetic neutral atoms emitted from the heliosheath, located between the solar wind termination shock and the local interstellar medium (LISM). These flux maps reveal distinct nonthermal (0.2 to 6 kilo-electron volts) heliosheath proton populations with spectral signatures ordered predominantly by ecliptic latitude. The maps show a globally distributed population of termination-shock-heated protons and a superimposed ribbonlike feature that forms a circular arc in the sky centered on ecliptic coordinate (longitude lambda, latitude beta) = (221 degrees, 39 degrees), probably near the direction of the LISM magnetic field. Over the IBEX energy range, the ribbon's nonthermal ion pressure multiplied by its radial thickness is in the range of 70 to 100 picodynes per square centimeter AU (AU, astronomical unit), which is significantly larger than the 30 to 60 picodynes per square centimeter AU of the globally distributed population.