Multiscale plasma structuring near the boundary of open-closed field lines

Details Multiscale plasma structuring near the boundary of open-closed field lines Multiscale plasma structuring near the boundary of open-closed field lines

Dec 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agufmsm13c..06a&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #SM13C-06

Physics

2748 Magnetotail Boundary Layers, 2764 Plasma Sheet

Scientific paper

Magnetospheric plasma is very dynamic and filamented in nature, especially in the vicinity of the separatrix between open and closed field lines in the magnetotail. Dispersed ion structures in which the highest energy ions are found nearest the boundary have been observed in this region by the Aureol-3, Akebono and Interball satellites. They are observed frequently (50% of the time) by the four spacecraft of the Cluster mission, allowing for an improved and more detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal characteristics of these structures. In this study, we examine an inbound plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) crossing by the Cluster spacecraft on February 14, 2001. On this day, the Cluster spacecraft observed dispersed ion structures at the poleward edge of the boundary, and "echoes" of these structures at lower latitudes. In addition, each dispersed ion structure was comprised of "beamlets," which are discrete structures in the ion precipitation profile. Previous studies of this event have postulated that these structures are a result of transient burst-like acceleration effects mixed with time of flight effects. We have used a combination of global magnetohydrodynamic simulations and particle trajectory calculations to analyze this event. Our investigation began with a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of Earth's magnetosphere driven by solar wind data from the ACE spacecraft. We then launched distributions of ions representing the fluxes observed by the CIS experiment onboard the Cluster 1, 3, and 4 spacecraft both forward and backward in time from the spacecraft location in the time-dependent global MHD electric and magnetic fields. This allows us to determine the origins and acceleration mechanisms of ions observed by Cluster. By comparing our results from the three spacecraft we can determine the relationship between the multiple structures observed by each spacecraft and separate spatial from temporal acceleration mechanisms. We are especially interested in quantifying the role of non-adiabatic acceleration in the formation of the observed structures.

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