Physics
Scientific paper
May 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005agusmsm22a..03m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2005, abstract #SM22A-03
Physics
2700 Magnetospheric Physics, 2724 Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, 2740 Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, 2784 Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interactions
Scientific paper
A simple picture of the reconnection geometry, including the high density magnetosheath ion expansion into the low density magnetosphere, may be adequate to explain the "heated" electron distributions observed streaming away from the dayside high-shear magnetopause. Reconnection flows at the high shear magnetopause provide velocity kicks of twice the deHoffmann-Teller velocity. In addition, electrons will interact with an ambipolar field at the front of the magnetosheath ion expansion into the magnetosphere. The ambipolar field prevents the sheath electrons from running away and violating quasi-neutrality. The magnitude of the ambipolar field should be the order of Te/e and will decrease as the sheath ions fill the magnetospheric portion of the flux tube. This ambipolar field propagates with the ion expansion front, therefore electrons that reflect off the front will lose energy in the Earth frame. Higher energy electrons that penetrate the front, magnetically mirror, and pass back through the front will also lose energy. These two acceleration mechanisms may be adequate to explain electron distributions observed both inside and outside the magnetopause on newly reconnected field lines. Data from the Cluster spacecraft will be compared to the model fits.
Fazakerley Andrew
McFadden James P.
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