Finite Larmor radius effect on ion pickup at Venus

The interaction of the solar wind with Venus is influenced by the pickup of newly born exospheric oxygen ions by the convecting magnetosheath plasma. The flow and field configuration of the magnetosheath plasma, together with the large gyroradius of the pickup ions, cause mass loading to occur preferentially on one side of the magnetosheath. The observed hemispherical asymmetry in the magnetic field in the near‐planet magnetosheath, attributed to this pickup process, is confirmed by direct observation of the picked‐up planetary particles. Test particle calculations show that a current system created by ion pickup has the appropriate location and magnitude to account for the magnetic field asymmetry. The results indicate that a fluid treatment of the Venus mass‐loading problem is not entirely appropriate; a hybrid or kinetic model is necessary to incorporate the finite Larmor radius of the pickup particles which produces the observed asymmetry.