The solar wind ion composition spectrometer

Abstract

The Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) on Ulysses is designed to determine uniquely the elemental and ionic-charge composition, and the temperatures and mean speeds of all major solar-wind ions, from H through Fe, at solar wind speeds ranging from 175 km/s (protons) to 1280 km/s (Fe(8+)). The instrument, which covers an energy per charge range from 0.16 to 59.6 keV/e in about 13 min, combines an electrostatic analyzer with postacceleration, followed by a time-of-flight and energy measurement. The measurements made by SWICS will have an impact on many areas of solar and heliospheric physics, in particular providing essential and unique information on: (1) conditions and processes in the region of the corona where the solar wind is accelerated; (2) the location of the source regions of the solar wind in the corona; (3) coronal heating processes; (4) the extent and causes of variations in the composition of the solar atmosphere; (5) plasma processes in the solar wind; (6) the acceleration of energetic particles in the solar wind; (7) the thermalization and acceleration of interstellar ions in the solar wind, and their composition; and (8) the composition, charge states, and behavior of the plasma in various regions of the Jovian magnetosphere.