Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsm54a..01r&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SM54A-01
Physics
Plasma Physics
[2744] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetotail, [7835] Space Plasma Physics / Magnetic Reconnection, [7859] Space Plasma Physics / Transport Processes
Scientific paper
Dipolarization fronts, rapid, large-amplitude increases in the northward magnetic field component, are often observed in the near-Earth magnetotail plasma sheet (X>-20 RE). Although the dipolarization fronts have been observed for the last four decades, the physics of their origin and stability is still debated. Multi-point observations which allow temporal variations to be distinguished from spatial structures are needed to define the front's orientation and motion and reconstruct its internal structure. Earlier dual-probe observations revealed earthward propagation of the fronts and their association with energetic particle injections. Four-point Cluster observations made it possible to determine the velocity of the front precisely and estimate its thickness. Recent studies of dipolarization fronts observed during THEMIS conjunction events revealed typical magnetic and electric field and plasma parameter variations during front crossings. Using multi-point timing analysis, front propagation velocity was determined and characteristic gradient scales estimated. Dipolarization} fronts were found to be ion gyro-scale vertical (with normal pointing earthward) current sheets localized within 1 RE around the neutral sheet. The corresponding current density is, on average, 20 nA/m^2, i.e., 5 - 7 times larger than the average current density in the cross-tail current sheet. The fronts are associated with earthward and duskward electric field enhancement up to several tens of mV/m. THEMIS observations also suggest impulsive magnetic reconnection in the mid-tail plasma sheet as a source of dipolarization fronts.
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