ANGEO Annales Geophysicae ANGEO Ann. Geophys. 1432-0576 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/angeo-23-931-2005 A corrector for spacecraft calculated electron moments Geach J. 1 2 Schwartz S. J. 1 3 Génot V. 4 Moullard O. 1 Lahiff A. 5 Fazakerley A. N. 5 Space Plasma Group, Astronomy Unit, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK now at: Department of Physics, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3HP, UK now at: Space and Atmospheric Physics, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK Centre d’Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, 9 Avenue du Colonel Roche, Boite Postale 4346 31028, Toulouse, France Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK 30 03 2005 23 3 931 943 Copyright: © 2005 J. Geach et al. 2005 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://angeo.copernicus.org/articles/23/931/2005/angeo-23-931-2005.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://angeo.copernicus.org/articles/23/931/2005/angeo-23-931-2005.pdf

We present the application of a numerical method to correct electron moments calculated on-board spacecraft from the effects of potential broadening and energy range truncation. Assuming a shape for the natural distribution of the ambient plasma and employing the scalar approximation, the on-board moments can be represented as non-linear integral functions of the underlying distribution. We have implemented an algorithm which inverts this system successfully over a wide range of parameters for an assumed underlying drifting Maxwellian distribution. The outputs of the solver are the corrected electron plasma temperature <i>T<sub>e</sub></i>, density <i>N<sub>e</sub></i> and velocity vector <i><b>V</b><sub>e</sub></i>. We also make an estimation of the temperature anisotropy <i>A</i> of the distribution. We present corrected moment data from Cluster's PEACE experiment for a range of plasma environments and make comparisons with electron and ion data from other Cluster instruments, as well as the equivalent ground-based calculations using full 3-D distribution PEACE telemetry.