Dynamic Events in the Jovian Magnetotail: A Statistical Study From Magnetic Field Measurements

Physics

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2744 Magnetotail, 2756 Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6033), 5443 Magnetospheres (2756), 5737 Magnetospheres (2756)

Scientific paper

The Galileo mission to Jupiter provided magnetic field and energetic particle measurements of the Jovian plasma sheet in the near and distant tail. Dynamic events associated with reconnection have been observed in the Jovian magnetotail [ Russell et al., 1998]. These events are thought to imply the presence of a nearby neutral point. In the magnetic field data, they are characterized by an intensification of Bθ, the component of the magnetic field perpendicular to the equator. We have analyzed magnetometer data from Galileo using all intervals with time resolution of 24 s per vector or better in regions of the magnetotail between 1800 and 0600 local time and at radial distances beyond 30 RJ to identify dynamic events occurring in the Jovian magnetotail. Our criteria require that Bθ increase by at least a factor of 2 over background levels and concurrently a bend of field lines with respect to the radial direction change. Change of the bend-back angle indicates that rotational speed of the plasma is either increasing or decreasing to conserve angular momentum as plasma flows toward Jupiter or down the tail, respectively. Our analysis has identified nearly 1,000 dynamic events in 28 orbits including 7,500 hours of data. These events occur as far down the tail as 142 RJ. There is no evidence of a significant asymmetry in the frequency of events around midnight, though we do find that the frequency of the events decreases near midnight. A previous statistical study of particle bursts in the Jovian magnetotail [ Woch, Krupp, and Lagg, 2002], found that the events were concentrated in the dawn sector and noted the location of a statistical separatrix dividing predominantly inward and outward flow. Our results also suggest a similar contour separating the flow patterns.

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