Energetic Ions in the High Latitude Boundary Layer of the Magnetosphere - RAPID/CLUSTER Observation

Physics

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2720 Energetic Particles, Trapped, 2724 Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, 2728 Magnetosheath

Scientific paper

The RAPID/CLUSTER is an advanced ion spectrometer with a position sensitive time-of-flight (T) and energy (E) detection system which determines the mass of incident energetic ions. The energy range extends from 50 to 1500 keV. Combined with the sectored spin plane of the spacecraft it allows the imaging of flux distributions over the complete unit sphere (4 π ) in phase space. The thrust of this paper concentrates on the energetic ion events near the high latitude boundary layer of the magnetosphere during both IMF southward and northward. On December 19, 2000, an energetic ions layer has been observed in the high latitude boundary region just outside the magnetosphere during IMF southward. However, on January 14, 2001 for a IMF northward case, layer-like energetic ions has been observed inside the magnetosphere. The energetic particles for both cases are also highly anisotropic, but exhibit a clear sunward or antisunward flow meanwhile geomagnetic activity is also very quiet. The flow directions for both IMF northward and southward case can be explained in a framework of convection models -- dayside reconnection occurred in the subsolar region during a southward IMF Bz; high latitude reconnection happened during IMF northward. However, the reconnection processes are important simply because they either open a path for energetic magnetospheric ions to escape into the magnetosheath (Southward IMF), or provide reverse convection geometry (Northward IMF) rather than by particle acceleration. The observed energetic particles for both cases in the high latitude boundary region may be provided by the tail plasma sheet particles because of a minimum magnetic field existing off equator in the high latitude region of the magnetosphere (e.g. Tsyganenko magnetic field model). In this way, initially mirroring near the equator are expelled from low latitudes and subsequently swept into the boundary layer at high latitudes.

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