Аннотация:In this paper we introduce a novel approach for modelling planetary magnetospheres that involves a combination of the hybrid model and the Paraboloid Magnetosphere Model (PMM); we further refer to it as the Combined Hybrid Model (CHM). While both of these individual models have been successfully applied in the past, their combination enables us to both overcome the traditional difficulties of hybrid models to develop a self-consistent magnetic field and to compensate the lack of plasma simulation in the PMM. We then use this combined model to simulate Mercury's magnetosphere and investigate the geometry and configuration of Mercury's magnetosheath controlled by various conditions in the interplanetary medium. The developed approach provides a unique comprehensive view of Mercury's magnetospheric environment for the first time.
Using this setup we compare the locations of the bow shock and the magnetopause as determined by simulations with the locations predicted by standalone PMM runs, and also verify the magnetic and dynamic pressure balance at the magnetopause. We also compare the results produced by these simulations with observational data obtained b the magnetometer on board the MESSENGER spacecraft along a dusk-dawn orbit, and discuss the signatures of the magnetospheric features that appear in these simulations. Over-all, our analysis suggests that combining the semi-empirical PMM with a self-consistent global kinetic model creates new modelling possibilities which individual models cannot provide on their own.