Solar wind charge exchange X-ray imaging of the magnetosphere: comparison of the MHD and test-particle approaches

International audienceWe present simulations of the Solar Wind Charge exchange X-ray (SWCX) emission produced in the Earth's magnetosheath, developed in support of the SMILE ESA-CAS mission. This mission will map the SWCX emission produced when highly charged solar wind ions charge exchange with geocoronal neutrals. We discuss the simulation results of two different approaches: first based on pure magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) single-fluid description, and second with a hybrid approach where the solar wind ion trajectories are calculated by a kinetic test-particle model with input electric and magnetic fields from MHD simulations. We compare emissivities and intensity maps in various projections as viewed from SMILE's orbit and discuss the differences and complementarity of the two approaches