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Mass-loading, pile-up, and mirror-mode waves at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Altwegg, K.; Glassmeier, K. -H.; Nilsson, H. +23 more

The data from all Rosetta plasma consortium instruments and from the ROSINA COPS instrument are used to study the interaction of the solar wind with the outgassing cometary nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. During 6 and 7 June 2015, the interaction was first dominated by an increase in the solar wind dynamic pressure, caused by a higher solar …

Two-point observations of low-frequency waves at 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the descent of PHILAE: comparison of RPCMAG and ROMAP

Goetz, Charlotte; Tsurutani, Bruce T.; Richter, Ingo +11 more

The European Space Agency's spacecraft ROSETTA has reached its final destination, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Whilst orbiting in the close vicinity of the nucleus the ROSETTA magnetometers detected a new type of low-frequency wave possibly generated by a cross-field current instability due to freshly ionized cometary water group particles. Du…

Modified ion-Weibel instability as a possible source of wave activity at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Motschmann, Uwe; Glassmeier, Karl-Heinz; Meier, Patrick

We analytically discuss wave excitation in a homogeneous three component plasma consisting of solar wind protons, electrons and a beam of cometary water ions applied to the plasma environment of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The resulting dispersion relations are studied in a solar wind rest frame, where a cometary current is solely generated b…