Related papers: Interplanetary Medium as Fuel for Plasma Thrusters

A plasma velocity shear layer and/or a tangential flow discontinuity provide conditions allowing for energetic particle acceleration. We review such acceleration processes acting both in non-relativistic and in relativistic flows. In…

The effect of the primeval sources of radiation and particles on the thermodynamical state of the intergalactic medium during the Epoch of Reionisation is still unclear. In this work, we explore the contribution of electrons accelerated in…

Since the Voyager mission flybys in 1979, we have known the moon Io to be both volcanically active and the main source of plasma in the vast magnetosphere of Jupiter. Material lost from Io forms neutral clouds, the Io plasma torus and…

The plasma is an ionized gas that responses collectively to any external (or internal) perturbations. Introducing micron-sized solid dust grains into plasma makes it more interesting. The solid grains acquire large negative charges on their…

The mass density of dust particles that form from asteroids and comets in the interplanetary medium of the solar system is, near 1 AU, comparable to the mass density of the solar wind. It is mainly contained in particles of micrometer size…

Extrasolar planets appear in a chemical diversity unseen in our own solar system. Despite their atmospheres being cold, continuous and transient plasma processes do affect these atmosphere where clouds form with great efficiency. Clouds can…

Accurate determination of Cassini's spacecraft potential in Titan's ionosphere is important for interpreting measurements by its low energy plasma instruments. Estimates of the floating potential varied significantly, however, between the…

We introduce collisions of solids as a new and efficient ionization mechanism for gas in protoplanetary disks, which especially operates in the dense midplane of protoplanetary disks. This idea is sparked by laboratory experiments where we…

This paper investigates the binary collision between an ion and a charged dust particle in the plasma in the presence of a uniform magnetic field. The trajectories of ions are calculated using the modified Velocity Verlet algorithm designed…

Observations of $\gamma$-rays from diffuse gas provide the opportunity to study the distribution of high energy particles in different astrophysical environments. In the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and the intracluster medium (ICM), it is…

The study of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the X-rays has entered a golden age with the advent of the X-ray observatories XMM-Newton and Chandra. High-energy resolution allowed to study dust spectroscopic features with unprecedented…

We explore the physics of electron acceleration in a plasma medium in an effective field theory framework. Employing a multiple Compton scattering mechanism, it is found that the acceleration can be sustained in such a medium so as to…

We use a diffusive model for the propagation of Galactic cosmic rays to estimate the charged pion production in interactions with protons of the interstellar medium. Cosmic ray nuclei from proton to iron are considered and the corresponding…

We present a theoretical analysis of an innovative combination of a nuclear thermal and electromagnetic (EM) thruster. Specifically, we scrutinize the thermodynamics involved in integrating a nuclear thermal reactor with an expansion…

This article is devoted to research the application of the spacecraft with a solar sail to support the certain climatic conditions in an area of the Mars surface. Authors propose principles of functioning of the spacecraft, intended to…

Observations of quasar absorption systems relevant for studies of star formation at redshift 2 </= z </= 4 are briefly reviewed. Emphasis is given on the role played by dust in our understanding of the star formation history of galaxies…

This paper shows that gravitating bodies travelling through the Galaxy can trap lighter interstellar particles that pass nearby with small relative velocities onto temporarily-bound orbits. The capture mechanism is driven by the Galactic…

We calculate the thermochemical equilibrium of the diffuse interstellar medium, including ionization by a photon flux F_{nu} from neutrino decay. The main heating mechanism considered is photoelectrons from grains and PAHs. For the studied…

The collisionless plasmas in space and astrophysical environments are intrinsically multiscale in nature, behaving as conducting fluids at macroscales and kinetically at microscales comparable to ion- and/or electron-gyroradii. A…

The Cassini spacecraft's Grand Finale flybys through Saturn's ionosphere provided unprecedented insight into the composition and dynamics of the gas giant's upper atmosphere and a novel and complex spacecraft-plasma interaction. In this…