Low altitude signature of the plasma sheet boundary layer: Observations and model

Details Low altitude signature of the plasma sheet boundary layer: Observations and model Low altitude signature of the plasma sheet boundary layer: Observations and model

Apr 1995

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995georl..22..855o&link_type=abstract

Geophysical Research Letters (ISSN 0094-8276), vol. 22, no. 7, p. 855-858

Physics

20

Atmospheric Boundary Layer, Atmospheric Models, Geomagnetic Tail, Ion Distribution, Spectral Signatures, Boundary Conditions, Computerized Simulation, Mapping, Particle Acceleration, Particle Precipitation, Plasma Density

Scientific paper

Low-altitude spacecraft on magnetotail field lines often detect a distinctive signature in the precipitating ion flux. A velocity-dispersed ion structure is often observed near the poleward boundary of the auroral oval. At the low-latitude edge of this structure an absence of precipitating ions is seen, previously referred to as 'the gap,' separating the velocity -- dispersed ions at the higher latitudes from the more diffuse, plasma sheet-like ions at lower latitudes. We present a model of low-altitude particle precipitation that reproduces these observed features in the ion spectra and provides a quantitative estimate of the downtail plasma sheet properties. The model calculations are compared with observations from the Akebono spacecraft. In this model, the dispersed ion velocity signature maps to a region in the distant plasma sheet where the plasma has a field-aligned bulk flow. The gap maps to a region in the distant magnetotail where the ion fluxes are below the detection threshold of the instrument, due to the low plasma sheet density and temperature in that region.

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