AUTHOR=Cao Xin , Chu Xiangning , Hsu Hsiang-Wen , Cao Hao , Sun Weijie , Liuzzo Lucas , Halekas Jasper , Paty Carol , Chu Feng , Agiwal Omakshi , Blum Lauren , Crary Frank , Cohen Ian J. , Delamere Peter , Hofstadter Mark , Hospodarsky George , John Cooper , Kollmann Peter , Kronberg Elena , Kurth William , Lamy Laurent , Lin Dong , Li Wen , Ma Xuanye , Malaspina David , Morooka Michiko , Nordheim Tom , Postberg Frank , Poppe Andrew , Richard Cartwright , Ruhunusiri Suranga , Soderlund Krista , O'Donoghue James , Plaschke Ferdinand TITLE=Science return of probing magnetospheric systems of ice giants JOURNAL=Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences VOLUME=11 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences/articles/10.3389/fspas.2024.1203705 DOI=10.3389/fspas.2024.1203705 ISSN=2296-987X ABSTRACT=

The magnetospheric systems of ice giants, as the ideal and the unique template of a typical class of exoplanets, have not been sufficiently studied in the past decade. The complexity of these asymmetric and extremely dynamic magnetospheres provides us a great chance to systematically investigate the general mechanism of driving the magnetospheres of such common exoplanets in the Universe, and the key factors of influencing the global and local magnetospheric structures of this type of planets. In this paper, we discuss the science return of probing magnetospheric systems of ice giants for the future missions, throughout different magnetospheric regions, across from the interaction with upstream solar wind to the downstream region of the magnetotail. We emphasize the importance of detecting the magnetospheric systems of ice giants in the next decades, which enables us to deeply understand the space enviroNMent and habitability of not only the ice giants themselves but also the analogous exoplanets which are widely distributed in the Universe.