Electron anisotropy constraint in the magnetosheath: Cluster observations

Physics – Plasma Physics

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Magnetospheric Physics: Plasma Waves And Instabilities (2471), Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetosheath, Space Plasma Physics: Wave/Particle Interactions (2483, 6984)

Scientific paper

The whistler anisotropy instability is driven by the condition T$\perp$e/T$\parallel$e > 1, where the subscript e denotes electrons and the other subscripts denote directions relative to the background magnetic field Bo. Instability growth leads to enhanced field fluctuations which scatter the electrons; theory and simulations show that this scattering imposes an upper bound on the electron anisotropy in the form T$\perp$e/T$\parallel$e - 1 = Se/β$\parallel$eαe with fitting parameters 0.1 $\lesssim$ Se $\lesssim$ 1 and 0.5 $\lesssim$ αe < 0.7 over 0.10 <= β$\parallel$e <= 1.0 where β$\parallel$e = 8πneT$\parallel$e/Bo2. Here measurements from the PEACE instrument on the Cluster 1 spacecraft show that electron anisotropies in two crossings of the dayside terrestrial magnetosheath are constrained statistically by this equation with Se $\simeq$ 0.2 and αe $\simeq$ 0.6. This is the first reported observation of this constraint in a space plasma.

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