Venus nightside ionospheric holes: The signatures of parallel electric field acceleration regions?

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Abstract
Recent observations by the instruments onboard the Pioneer Venus spacecraft have revealed the existence of "holes" or regions of density depletion in the nightside Venus ionosphere associated with regions of radial magnetic fields. The properties of the electrons within the core of these holes are suggestive of an acceleration process along the magnetic field lines as are the Venera 9 and 10 observations of energetic ions in the Venus tail. Given the observational information, we attribute these Venusian plasma depletions to the presence of parallel electric fields similar to those observed in the terrestrial auroral ionosphere. The resulting electric field accelerates electrons down the field lines producing heating of the depleted thermal electron population within the hole and production of ionization below the hole. Simultaneously ionospheric ions are accelerated outward toward the plasmasheet.