Consideration of the Martian magnetotail as evidence for an intrinsic magnetic field

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Abstract
It has been suggested by Verigin et al. [1993] that the response of the Martian magnetotail to changes in the solar wind ram pressure indicates the presence of an intrinsic dipole magnetic field. 3‐D hybrid particle simulations of Mars were performed including the magnetotail regions. The simulations are in agreement with published Phobos 2 data from the 3 elliptical orbits and reproduce the magnetopause diameter dependence on the solar wind ram pressure reported by Verigin et al. [1993]. However, the simulations were performed with no intrinsic field present, indicating that the dependence of the magnetotail width on ram pressure, is not a discriminator for the presence of the intrinsic field.