@article{Edberg:2016:10.1002/2015JA022147,
author = {Edberg, NJT and Eriksson, AI and Odelstad, E and Vigren, E and Andrews, DJ and Johansson, F and Burch, JL and Carr, CM and Cupido, E and Glassmeier, KH and Goldstein, R and Halekas, JS and Henri, P and Koenders, C and Mandt, K and Mokashi, P and Nemeth, Z and Nilsson, H and Ramstad, R and Richter, I and Stenberg, Wieser G},
doi = {10.1002/2015JA022147},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics},
pages = {949--965},
title = {Solar wind interaction with comet 67P: impacts of corotating interaction regions},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015JA022147},
volume = {121},
year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
AB  - We present observations from the Rosetta Plasma Consortium of the effects of stormy solar wind on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Four corotating interaction regions (CIRs), where the first event has possibly merged with a CME, are traced from Earth via Mars (using Mars Express and MAVEN) and to comet 67P from October to December 2014. When the comet is 3.1-2.7 AU from the Sun and the neutral outgassing rate ∼1025−1026 s−1 the CIRs significantly influence the cometary plasma environment at altitudes down to 10-30 km. The ionospheric low-energy (∼5 eV) plasma density increases significantly in all events, by a factor >2 in events 1-2 but less in events 3-4. The spacecraft potential drops below -20V upon impact when the flux of electrons increases. The increased density is likely caused by compression of the plasma environment, increased particle impact ionisation, and possibly charge exchange processes and acceleration of mass loaded plasma back to the comet ionosphere. During all events, the fluxes of suprathermal (∼10-100 eV) electrons increase significantly, suggesting that the heating mechanism of these electrons is coupled to the solar wind energy input. At impact the magnetic field strength in the coma increases by a factor of  2-5 as more interplanetary magnetic field piles up around of the comet. During two CIR impact events, we observe possible plasma boundaries forming, or moving past Rosetta, as the strong solar wind compresses the cometary plasma environment. We also discuss the possibility of seeing some signatures of the ionospheric response to tail disconnection events.
AU  - Edberg,NJT
AU  - Eriksson,AI
AU  - Odelstad,E
AU  - Vigren,E
AU  - Andrews,DJ
AU  - Johansson,F
AU  - Burch,JL
AU  - Carr,CM
AU  - Cupido,E
AU  - Glassmeier,KH
AU  - Goldstein,R
AU  - Halekas,JS
AU  - Henri,P
AU  - Koenders,C
AU  - Mandt,K
AU  - Mokashi,P
AU  - Nemeth,Z
AU  - Nilsson,H
AU  - Ramstad,R
AU  - Richter,I
AU  - Stenberg,Wieser G
DO  - 10.1002/2015JA022147
EP  - 965
PY  - 2016///
SN  - 2169-9402
SP  - 949
TI  - Solar wind interaction with comet 67P: impacts of corotating interaction regions
T2  - Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015JA022147
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/29078
VL  - 121
ER  - 

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