Energetic Oxygen Ions of Ionospheric Origin Discovered in the Cusp

Physics

Scientific paper

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2451 Particle Acceleration, 2724 Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, 2778 Ring Current

Scientific paper

Low charge state energetic (76-228 keV/e) oxygen ions were discovered by the CAMMICE experiment on board the POLAR spacecraft in the high-altitude dayside cusp. The observed cusp energetic oxygen ions of ionospheric origin were associated with a dramatic decrease and large fluctuations in the local magnetic field strength. Just like in the the equatorial ring current, the measured magnetic moment spectrum of the low charge state energetic oxygen ions in the cusp follows a power law with a similar spectral index. However, its spectral amplitude in the cusp was much larger than that in the equatorial ring current, indicating a higher low charge state oxygen ion flux (or phase space density) in the cusp than in the equatorial ring current at a given magnetic moment. The dipolarization process during substorms can accelerate low energy ions to higher energy. If the substorm was the source of the cusp energetic oxygen ions, one would expect a spectral amplitude in the equatorial ring current larger than or equal to that in the cusp. The measured energetic oxygen ions in the cusp cannot be explained by the substorm source. To interpret these observations, one needs a new energetic ion source.

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