Initial FAST observations of acceleration processes in the cusp

Details Initial FAST observations of acceleration processes in the cusp Initial FAST observations of acceleration processes in the cusp

Jun 1998

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998georl..25.2037p&link_type=abstract

Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 25, Issue 12, p. 2037-2040

Physics

17

Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, Magnetospheric Physics: Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interactions, Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetosphere/Ionosphere Interactions, Magnetospheric Physics: Auroral Phenomena

Scientific paper

FAST satellite observations during two encounters with the Earth's cusps near 4000 km are presented. In addition to precipitating magnetosheath particles with isotropic pitch angle distributions, the energetic particle data reveal upgoing ion beams, ion conics, downgoing ``inverted-V'' electron distributions, and very narrow, intense upgoing electron beams. A rich assortment of DC-coupled electric fields and plasma waves accompany these acceleration processes. In one example, steplike injections of magnetosheath ions are correlated with bursts of upgoing ion beams and downgoing electrons, suggesting that the currents associated with these injections set up local electric potential structures that subsequently drive the acceleration processes. The observations underscore the fact that the cusp is not merely a conduit for the passage of magnetosheath particles and fields, but contains a dynamic internal electrical structure that accelerates particles locally and may alter the precipitating magnetosheath particle populations themselves.

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