Pickup ion processes associated with spacecraft thrusters: Implications for solar probe plus

Abstract

The following chapter will discuss and review the physics of pickup ions (PUIs). The interaction of newborn ions from a thruster firing with the solar wind is an example of a pickup ion coupling process. Therefore in this chapter I review the processes of ion pickup and the various heliospheric environments in which they occur such as near to comets, planets and in active release experiments.