Cross-comparison of global simulation models applied to Mercury's dayside magnetosphere
Résumé
We present the first comparison of multiple global simulations of the solar wind interaction with Mercury’s dayside magnetosphere, conducted in the function of the international collaborative project SHOTS - Studies on Hermean magnetosphere Oriented Theories and Simulations. Two magnetohydrodynamic and two hybrid (ion kinetic, electron fluid) simulation codes are used to investigate a scenario with a northward orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field. We juxtapose the results of the four codes for a theoretical case and a MESSENGER orbit with similar upstream plasma conditions. The different models agree on a bow shock and magnetopause location at 2.1 RM and 1.4 RM, respectively. It is found that the location of the simulated bow shock depends on the inner boundary condition of the model. To assess and characterize the different features of each code, the thickness of the magnetosheath has been compared as well. The four models are also used for the comparison with MESSENGER observations, and virtual sampling of Mio and MPO spacecraft of BepiColombo mission. Our ability to more accurately predict the structure of the Hermean magnetosphere will aid the analysis of BepiColombo’s plasma measurements.
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