Numerical simulations of a sounding rocket in ionospheric plasma: Effects of magnetic field on the wake formation and rocket potential

Abstract

The charging of a sounding rocket in subsonic and supersonic plasma flows with external magnetic field is studied with numerical particle‐in‐cell (PIC) simulations. A weakly magnetized plasma regime is considered that corresponds to the ionospheric F2 layer, with electrons being strongly magnetized, while the magnetization of ions is weak. It is demonstrated that the magnetic field orientation influences the floating potential of the rocket and that with increasing angle between the rocket axis and the magnetic field direction the rocket potential becomes less negative. External magnetic field gives rise to asymmetric wake downstream of the rocket. The simulated wake in the potential and density may extend as far as 30 electron Debye lengths; thus, it is important to account for these plasma perturbations when analyzing in situ measurements. A qualitative agreement between simulation results and the actual measurements with a sounding rocket is also shown. © 2017 American Geophysical Union