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Richardson & McNutt 1990
Richardson, J.D. and McNutt, R.L. (1990). Low-energy plasma in Neptune’s magnetosphere. Geophysical Research Letters 17: doi: 10.1029/90GL01262. issn: 0094-8276.

Plasma data from the region of Neptune's magnetosphere between L=6.5 and L=13.5 are analyzed. Selecting only spectra where both light and heavy ions are present, we derive density and temperature profiles under the assumption that the ions are H+ and N+. These results are used to calculate the total flux shell content (for a shell of unit width in L), N, of each ion in this region. Values of N derived from inbound and outbound data are similar, indicating the plasma distribution functions are isotropic. Average values of NL2 are 3¿1032 for H+ and 1¿1032 for N+. Profiles of NL2 for both H+ and N+ increase outwards, suggesting that Triton is the probable source of both these plasma components. Evidence is presented for significant inbound-outbound asymmetries in the plasma morphology. ¿American Geophysical Union 1990

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Magnetospheric Physics, Planetary magnetospheres
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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