Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmsm53d..03r&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #SM53D-03
Physics
[2764] Magnetospheric Physics / Plasma Sheet, [2788] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetic Storms And Substorms
Scientific paper
Sudden increases in the Z-component of the magnetic field in the magnetotail plasma sheet, referred to as dipolarization fronts, are often observed on the leading edge of BBF's. Multi-point observations by the THEMIS probes accompanied by ground-based monitoring of aurora and magnetic field variations, provide the possibility to track the fronts in the plasma sheet and establish their association with auroral dynamics and substorm onset. We present results of THEMIS case studies of a dipolarization front, detected in the central plasma sheet sequentially at X=-20.1RE by the THEMIS P1 probe, at X=-16.7 RE (P2), and at X=-11.0 RE (P3/P4 pair). The formation of a distinct north-south auroral form and a rapid increase in the AE-index were observed by the THEMIS all-sky imager and magnetometer arrays. Timing of the signatures, observed in space, suggests an earthward propagation of the front at a velocity of 300 km/s. The front appeared to be a thin boundary, separating hot and tenuous BBF plasma with reduced flux tube entropy from the ambient plasma. The front thickness was found to be as small as the ion inertial length. This micro-scale structure traveled a macroscale distance of 10 RE during about 4 minutes without loss of its coherence. Recent PIC simulations demonstrated appearance of similar front structures on the leading edge of a plasma fast flow formed by a burst of magnetic reconnection in the midtail. The front may also be formed due to interaction of a plasma bubble with the ambient media.
Angelopoulos Vassilis
Auster Uli
Bonnell J. W.
Frey Harald U.
Glassmeier K.-
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