Physics
Scientific paper
Oct 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002jgra..107.1273c&link_type=abstract
Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics), Volume 107, Issue A10, pp. SMP 5-1, CiteID 1273, DOI 10.1029/2001JA000230
Physics
1
Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetosphere-Inner, Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, Magnetospheric Physics: Plasma Sheet, Magnetospheric Physics: Ring Current
Scientific paper
We present two energetic neutral atom (ENA) images in the energy range 26-37 keV from the ENA imager on board the Swedish microsatellite Astrid-1. The images are taken 24 hours apart from below the ring current at 0300 magnetic local time (MLT) around the equator at 1000 km altitude and show a narrow region of ENA emissions extending along the field lines in the postmidnight region. A parameterized model of the ring current is used to extract the ion distribution. The extracted ion distribution is 25° wide in longitude within L = 4 - 6 with an almost isotropic pitch angle distribution (PAD). One ENA image from a polar vantage point shows that the loss cones of the PAD are partially filled. The z component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was +2 and -3 nT at the times of the two observations. For IMF Bz = -3 nT the ENA flux is stronger than that for the observation when IMF Bz = +2 nT. We use a kinetic ring current model to show that the morphology of the extracted ion distribution can be explained by a narrow flow channel from the plasma sheet at L = 10 and 0200-0300 MLT to L = 5 and 0100-0200 MLT for 26 keV protons. In order to match the absolute flux of the extracted ion distribution with the results from the kinetic model, the plasma sheet density at L = 10 had to be set to 10 cm-3. This value is unreasonably high, and we discuss some scenarios that may justify a more reasonable value. During the previous 5 days the Dst had been between -50 and -15 nT, and the interplanetary magnetic field Bz had been fluctuating between -10 and +10 nT.
Barabash Stas
C:son Brandt Pontus
Ebihara Yasuhiro
Roelof Edmond C.
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