Direct evidence of substorm-related impulsive injections of electrons at Mercury

Sae Aizawa (), Yuki Harada, Nicolas André, Yoshifumi Saito, Stas Barabash, Dominique Delcourt, Jean-André Sauvaud, Alain Barthe, Andréi Fedorov, Emmanuel Penou, Shoichiro Yokota, Wataru Miyake, Moa Persson, Quentin Nénon, Mathias Rojo, Yoshifumi Futaana, Kazushi Asamura, Manabu Shimoyama, Lina Z. Hadid, Dominique Fontaine, Bruno Katra, Markus Fraenz, Norbert Krupp, Shoya Matsuda and Go Murakami
Additional contact information
Sae Aizawa: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Yuki Harada: Kyoto University
Nicolas André: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Yoshifumi Saito: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Stas Barabash: Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Dominique Delcourt: CNRS-Observatoire de Paris-Sorbonne Université-Université Paris Saclay-Ecole polytechnique-Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Jean-André Sauvaud: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Alain Barthe: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Andréi Fedorov: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Emmanuel Penou: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Shoichiro Yokota: Osaka University
Wataru Miyake: Tokai University
Moa Persson: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Quentin Nénon: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Mathias Rojo: IRAP, CNRS-UPS-CNES
Yoshifumi Futaana: Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Kazushi Asamura: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Manabu Shimoyama: Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Lina Z. Hadid: CNRS-Observatoire de Paris-Sorbonne Université-Université Paris Saclay-Ecole polytechnique-Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Dominique Fontaine: CNRS-Observatoire de Paris-Sorbonne Université-Université Paris Saclay-Ecole polytechnique-Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Bruno Katra: CNRS-Observatoire de Paris-Sorbonne Université-Université Paris Saclay-Ecole polytechnique-Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Markus Fraenz: Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Norbert Krupp: Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Shoya Matsuda: Kanazawa University
Go Murakami: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Mercury’s magnetosphere is known to involve fundamental processes releasing particles and energy like at Earth due to the solar wind interaction. The resulting cycle is however much faster and involves acceleration, transport, loss, and recycling of plasma. Direct experimental evidence for the roles of electrons during this cycle is however missing. Here we show that in-situ plasma observations obtained during BepiColombo’s first Mercury flyby reveal a compressed magnetosphere hosts of quasi-periodic fluctuations, including the original observation of dynamic phenomena in the post-midnight, southern magnetosphere. The energy-time dispersed electron enhancements support the occurrence of substorm-related, multiple, impulsive injections of electrons that ultimately precipitate onto its surface and induce X-ray fluorescence. These observations reveal that electron injections and subsequent energy-dependent drift now observed throughout Solar System is a universal mechanism that generates aurorae despite the differences in structure and dynamics of the planetary magnetospheres.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39565-4

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