About this Research Topic
This special issue is dedicated to examining and advancing the state-of-the-art understanding of the various interactive couplings within the various planetary systems inside of the Solar System. Different processes take place because of the different internal (planetary) and external (solar wind) conditions for the different systems. Although the solar wind is the main driver of planetary systems in the inner heliosphere, for the outer planets the rotation of the magnetosphere, the ionosphere, and moons all play important roles.
To understand plasma circulation around planets it is important to determine the plasma mass and energy transport processes from the solar wind and from and to the ionosphere into and around the magnetosphere. Magnetic reconnection is an important process to control plasma and energy transport. Auroral observations can be a remote-sensing tool to diagnose the time-dependent plasma transport in a planetary magnetosphere. This Research Topic aims to determine i) how the plasma and its energy are transported from the external solar wind region and from and into the ionosphere and ii) how auroral phenomena are related to that transport. Multi-spacecraft observations and multi-point ground observations can obtain detailed information on the solar wind (external) and magnetospheric (internal) plasma conditions: they can elucidate how the plasma of solar wind origin entered the magnetosphere and how it was transported from the ionosphere under various solar wind conditions. Large-scale and local-scale computer simulations using magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and particle-in-cell (PIC) codes can advance the understanding of how MHD and kinetic-scale processes transport plasma from the solar wind and the ionosphere into planetary magnetospheres.
This Research Topic calls for papers on how the plasma and its energy is transported from the solar wind and from and into the ionosphere under various solar wind and ionospheric conditions, based on state-of-the-art observational and simulation results. Types of manuscripts (papers) anticipated for this Research Topic are: Original Research papers, Brief Research Reports, Perspective papers, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Technology and Code papers, and Hypothesis and Theory papers.
To understand plasma circulation around planets it is important to determine the plasma mass and energy transport processes from the solar wind and from and to the ionosphere into and around the magnetosphere. Magnetic reconnection is an important process to control plasma and energy transport. Auroral observations can be a remote-sensing tool to diagnose the time-dependent plasma transport in a planetary magnetosphere. This Research Topic aims to determine i) how the plasma and its energy are transported from the external solar wind region and from and into the ionosphere and ii) how auroral phenomena are related to that transport. Multi-spacecraft observations and multi-point ground observations can obtain detailed information on the solar wind (external) and magnetospheric (internal) plasma conditions: they can elucidate how the plasma of solar wind origin entered the magnetosphere and how it was transported from the ionosphere under various solar wind conditions. Large-scale and local-scale computer simulations using magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and particle-in-cell (PIC) codes can advance the understanding of how MHD and kinetic-scale processes transport plasma from the solar wind and the ionosphere into planetary magnetospheres.
This Research Topic calls for papers on how the plasma and its energy is transported from the solar wind and from and into the ionosphere under various solar wind and ionospheric conditions, based on state-of-the-art observational and simulation results. Types of manuscripts (papers) anticipated for this Research Topic are: Original Research papers, Brief Research Reports, Perspective papers, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Technology and Code papers, and Hypothesis and Theory papers.
Keywords: Magnetic reconnection, Substorm, Magnetic storm, Auroral phenomena, Field-aligned Currents (FACs), Interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
