Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmsm24b..01s&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #SM24B-01
Physics
Plasma Physics
[2790] Magnetospheric Physics / Substorms, [7835] Space Plasma Physics / Magnetic Reconnection, [7845] Space Plasma Physics / Particle Acceleration
Scientific paper
In a recent substorm case study using THEMIS data [1], it was inferred that auroral intensification occurred 96 seconds after reconnection onset initiated a substorm in the magnetotail. These conclusions have been the subject of some controversy [2,3]. The time delay between reconnection and auroral intensification requires a propagation speed significantly faster than can be explained by Alfvén waves. Kinetic Alfvén waves, however, can be much faster and could possibly explain the time lag. To test this possiblity, we simulate large scale reconnection events with the kinetic PIC code P3D and examine the disturbances on a magnetic field line as it propagates through a reconnection region. In the regions near the separatrices but relatively far from the x-line, the propagation physics is expected to be governed by the physics of kinetic Alfvén waves. Indeed, we find that the propagation speed of the magnetic disturbance roughly scales with kinetic Alfvén speeds. We also examine energization of electrons due to this disturbance. Consequences for our understanding of substorms will be discussed. [1] Angelopoulos, V. et al., Science, 321, 931, 2008. [2] Lui, A. T. Y., Science, 324, 1391-b, 2009. [3] Angelopoulos, V. et al., Science, 324, 1391-c, 2009.
Drake James F.
Shay Michael A.
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