Simulating the interaction between a turbulent solar wind and bodies of the solar system.

Menura, a  newly developped hybrid PIC code, allows the self-consistent simulation between a turbulent upstream flow and an obstacle. A global view of such interactions is a novel product which allows us to diagnose both the impact of the additional turbulent energy on the obstacle, and the evolution of the turbulence when processed by planetary boundaries. We present the examples of exospheres (comets, at various heliocentric distances) and ionospheres (Mars-like obstacle). We find that the boundaries are changed in size, and present a much more dynamic behaviour. New plasma structures appear within the magnetospheres due to the impinging perpendicular magnetic field fluctuations, piling up and draping around the dense ionospheres/exospheres (see Figure). The spectral content is also extracted from within the magnetospheres, providing a strong comparison point with experimental studies of magnetospheric turbulence.