Magnetometry with Mesospheric Sodium
Atomic Physics
2009-12-23 v1 Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Geophysics
Abstract
Measurement of magnetic fields on the few-hundred-kilometer length scale is significant for a variety of geophysical applications including mapping of crustal magnetism and ocean-circulation measurements, yet available techniques for such measurements are very expensive or of limited accuracy. We propose a scheme for remote detection of magnetic fields using the naturally occurring atomic-sodium-rich layer in the mesosphere and existing high-power lasers developed for laser guide-star applications. The proposed scheme offers dramatic reduction in cost, opening the way to large-scale magnetic mapping missions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0912.4310,
title = {Magnetometry with Mesospheric Sodium},
author = {J. M. Higbie and S. M. Rochester and B. Patton and R. Holzlöhner and D. Bonaccini Calia and D. Budker},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0912.4310},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
5 pages, 3 figures