While we eagerly anticipate SMILE’s (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) unprecedented X-ray observations of the Earth’s magnetosheath and the initiation of a new era of magnetospheric research, it seems appropriate to look ahead to the abilities of the next generation of astrophysics missions. Of these, the Line Emission Mapper (LEM), a large aperture micro-calorimeter based mission, is currently planned to be able to observe the magnetosheath at high spectral resolution (~2 eV). With a field of view of ~30′, LEM will allow higher spatial resolution and higher cadence measurement of the motion of a very small portion of the magnetopause over relatively short periods of time (multiple hours), complementing SMILE’s global mapping. LEM’s strength is its spectral resolution. It will be able to measure the abundance of a broad range of elements and ionization states, many of which are inaccessible to current in situ instruments, and will be able to separate the emission from the magnetosheath from the emission from the cosmic X-ray background using the difference in their relative velocities.
Authors
K. D. Küntz, Dimitra Koutroumpa, W. R. Dunn, A. Foster, F. S. Porter, D. G. Sibeck, B. Walsh
- Bibliographic Reference
- K. D. Küntz, Dimitra Koutroumpa, W. R. Dunn, A. Foster, F. S. Porter, et al.. The magnetosheath at high spectral resolution. Earth and Planetary Physics, 2024, 8 (1), pp.1-13. ⟨10.26464/epp2023060⟩. ⟨insu-04242365⟩
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.26464/epp2023060
- Department
- Department of Physics and Astronomy [Baltimore]
- HAL Collection
- ["INSU - Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers", 'CNRS - Centre national de la recherche scientifique', 'Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales', 'Sorbonne Université', 'Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines', 'Université Paris-Saclay', 'Sorbonne Université 01/01/2018', 'Faculté des Sciences de Sorbonne Université', 'UVSQ-UPSACLAY', 'Sorbonne Université - Texte Intégral', 'Graduate School Géosciences, Climat, Environnement, Planètes', 'Graduate School Physique', 'Institut des Sciences de la Lumière', 'Alliance Sorbonne Université']
- HAL Identifier
- 4242370
- Institution
- ['Johns Hopkins University', 'NASA Goddard Space Flight Center', 'Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines', "Institut national des sciences de l'Univers", 'University College of London [London]', 'Harvard University', 'Smithsonian Institution', 'Boston University [Boston]']
- Laboratory
- ['Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales', 'Department of Physics and Astronomy [UCL London]', 'Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics', 'Center for Space Physics [Boston]']
- Published in
- France
Table of Contents
- 1 Introduction 2
- 2 Mission Description 3
- 3 Motivations 4
- 3.1 The Astrophysical Case 4
- 3.2 A Heliophysical Case 4
- 3.2.1 Solar wind 4
- 3.2.2 Magnetopause motion 5
- 3.2.3 Bowshocks and foreshocks and structure 6
- 3.2.4 Cusp science 6
- 4 Some Considerations 6
- 4.1 FOV 6
- 4.2 Backgrounds 7
- 4.3 GO and TOO Observations 7
- 5 Simulations 7
- 6 Feasibility 9
- 6.1 SMILE-type Science 9
- 6.2 Spectral Studies 10
- 6.2.1 Solar wind abundances 10
- 6.2.2 Velocity structure of the magnetosheath? 11
- 7 Summary 12
- Acknowledgments 12
- References 0
