Physics
Scientific paper
May 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agusmsm44a..07l&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2008, abstract #SM44A-07
Physics
7807 Charged Particle Motion And Acceleration, 7811 Discontinuities (2109), 7815 Electrostatic Structures, 7959 Models
Scientific paper
A new generation of ion measurements with much improved time resolution, and the availability of simultaneous such measurements at multiple adjacent points, have made it clear that the plasma sheet has prominent granularity at the scale size of keV proton gyroradii (beyond a few RE from Earth). This scale size in itself defies a fluid description, and its presence in a non-uniform magnetic field has direct implications for the magnetization of the ions. The reason is that the ions, especially heavy ions, have much larger gyroradii than electrons of similar energy and cannot uniformly neutralize the electrons during mirroring. Resulting space charges readily demagnetize and accelerate ions, including outflowing ions from Earth. Data from the Polar TIMAS and Cluster CODIF instruments will be shown here to illustrate the prevalence of ion gyroradii-sized flux and density gradients, both at high latitude near Earth (~5 RE) and at the ~19 RE Cluster apogees near the tail equatorial plane. Specifically, the gradient scale lengths are often less than five local gyroradii of a 10-keV proton at 90° pitch angle. The anticipated effects are not amenable to a fluid description, but they do provide a reasonable physical context for discrete aurora formation.
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