| 1. |
- Breuillard, H., et al.
(författare)
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The Properties of Lion Roars and Electron Dynamics in Mirror Mode Waves Observed by the Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:1, s. 93-103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mirror mode waves are ubiquitous in the Earth's magnetosheath, in particular behind the quasi-perpendicular shock. Embedded in these nonlinear structures, intense lion roars are often observed. Lion roars are characterized by whistler wave packets at a frequency similar to 100Hz, which are thought to be generated in the magnetic field minima. In this study, we make use of the high time resolution instruments on board the Magnetospheric MultiScale mission to investigate these waves and the associated electron dynamics in the quasi-perpendicular magnetosheath on 22 January 2016. We show that despite a core electron parallel anisotropy, lion roars can be generated locally in the range 0.05-0.2f(ce) by the perpendicular anisotropy of electrons in a particular energy range. We also show that intense lion roars can be observed up to higher frequencies due to the sharp nonlinear peaks of the signal, which appear as sharp spikes in the dynamic spectra. As a result, a high sampling rate is needed to estimate correctly their amplitude, and the latter might have been underestimated in previous studies using lower time resolution instruments. We also present for the first-time 3-D high time resolution electron velocity distribution functions in mirror modes. We demonstrate that the dynamics of electrons trapped in the mirror mode structures are consistent with the Kivelson and Southwood (1996) model. However, these electrons can also interact with the embedded lion roars: first signatures of electron quasi-linear pitch angle diffusion and possible signatures of nonlinear interaction with high-amplitude wave packets are presented. These processes can lead to electron untrapping from mirror modes.
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| 2. |
- Burch, J. L., et al.
(författare)
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Electron-scale measurements of magnetic reconnection in space
- 2016
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Ingår i: Science. - : AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 352:6290, s. 1189-
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physical process in plasmas whereby stored magnetic energy is converted into heat and kinetic energy of charged particles. Reconnection occurs in many astrophysical plasma environments and in laboratory plasmas. Using measurements with very high time resolution, NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission has found direct evidence for electron demagnetization and acceleration at sites along the sunward boundary of Earth's magnetosphere where the interplanetary magnetic field reconnects with the terrestrial magnetic field. We have (i) observed the conversion of magnetic energy to particle energy; (ii) measured the electric field and current, which together cause the dissipation of magnetic energy; and (iii) identified the electron population that carries the current as a result of demagnetization and acceleration within the reconnection diffusion/dissipation region.
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| 3. |
- Ergun, R. E., et al.
(författare)
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Drift waves, intense parallel electric fields, and turbulence associated with asymmetric magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause
- 2017
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 44:7, s. 2978-2986
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observations of magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause often display asymmetric structures that are accompanied by strong magnetic field (B) fluctuations and large-amplitude parallel electric fields (E-||). The B turbulence is most intense at frequencies above the ion cyclotron frequency and below the lower hybrid frequency. The B fluctuations are consistent with a thin, oscillating current sheet that is corrugated along the electron flow direction (along the X line), which is a type of electromagnetic drift wave. Near the X line, electron flow is primarily due to a Hall electric field, which diverts ion flow in asymmetric reconnection and accompanies the instability. Importantly, the drift waves appear to drive strong parallel currents which, in turn, generate large-amplitude (similar to 100mV/m) E-|| in the form of nonlinear waves and structures. These observations suggest that turbulence may be common in asymmetric reconnection, penetrate into the electron diffusion region, and possibly influence the magnetic reconnection process.
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| 4. |
- Le Contel, O., et al.
(författare)
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Lower Hybrid Drift Waves and Electromagnetic Electron Space-Phase Holes Associated With Dipolarization Fronts and Field-Aligned Currents Observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission During a Substorm
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 122:12, s. 12236-12257
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We analyze two ion scale dipolarization fronts associated with field-aligned currents detected by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission during a large substorm on 10 August 2016. The first event corresponds to a fast dawnward flow with an antiparallel current and could be generated by the wake of a previous fast earthward flow. It is associated with intense lower hybrid drift waves detected at the front and propagating dawnward with a perpendicular phase speed close to the electric drift and the ion thermal velocity. The second event corresponds to a flow reversal: from southwward/dawnward to northward/duskward associated with a parallel current consistent with a brief expansion of the plasma sheet before the front crossing and with a smaller lower hybrid drift wave activity. Electromagnetic electron phase-space holes are detected near these low-frequency drift waves during both events. The drift waves could accelerate electrons parallel to the magnetic field and produce the parallel electron drift needed to generate the electron holes. Yet we cannot rule out the possibility that the drift waves are produced by the antiparallel current associated with the fast flows, leaving the source for the electron holes unexplained.
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| 5. |
- Lavraud, B., et al.
(författare)
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Currents and associated electron scattering and bouncing near the diffusion region at Earth's magnetopause
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:7, s. 3042-3050
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Based on high-resolution measurements from NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we present the dynamics of electrons associated with current systems observed near the diffusion region of magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause. Using pitch angle distributions (PAD) and magnetic curvature analysis, we demonstrate the occurrence of electron scattering in the curved magnetic field of the diffusion region down to energies of 20 eV. We show that scattering occurs closer to the current sheet as the electron energy decreases. The scattering of inflowing electrons, associated with field-aligned electrostatic potentials and Hall currents, produces a new population of scattered electrons with broader PAD which bounce back and forth in the exhaust. Except at the center of the diffusion region the two populations are collocated and appear to behave adiabatically: the inflowing electron PAD focuses inward (toward lower magnetic field), while the bouncing population PAD gradually peaks at 90 degrees away from the center (where it mirrors owing to higher magnetic field and probable field-aligned potentials).
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| 6. |
- Nakamura, R., et al.
(författare)
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Transient, small-scale field-aligned currents in the plasma sheet boundary layer during storm time substorms
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:10, s. 4841-4849
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on field-aligned current observations by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft near the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) during two major substorms on 23 June 2015. Small-scale field-aligned currents were found embedded in fluctuating PSBL flux tubes near the separatrix region. We resolve, for the first time, short-lived earthward (downward) intense field-aligned current sheets with thicknesses of a few tens of kilometers, which are well below the ion scale, on flux tubes moving equatorward/earthward during outward plasma sheet expansion. They coincide with upward field-aligned electron beams with energies of a few hundred eV. These electrons are most likely due to acceleration associated with a reconnection jet or high-energy ion beam-produced disturbances. The observations highlight coupling of multiscale processes in PSBL as a consequence of magnetotail reconnection.
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| 7. |
- Torbert, R. B., et al.
(författare)
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Electron-scale dynamics of the diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection in space
- 2018
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Ingår i: Science. - : AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 362:6421, s. 1391-1395
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Magnetic reconnection is an energy conversion process that occurs in many astrophysical contexts including Earth's magnetosphere, where the process can be investigated in situ by spacecraft. On 11 July 2017, the four Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft encountered a reconnection site in Earth's magnetotail, where reconnection involves symmetric inflow conditions. The electron-scale plasma measurements revealed (i) super-Alfvenic electron jets reaching 15,000 kilometers per second; (ii) electron meandering motion and acceleration by the electric field, producing multiple crescent-shaped structures in the velocity distributions; and (iii) the spatial dimensions of the electron diffusion region with an aspect ratio of 0.1 to 0.2, consistent with fast reconnection. The well-structured multiple layers of electron populations indicate that the dominant electron dynamics are mostly laminar, despite the presence of turbulence near the reconnection site.
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| 8. |
- Ergun, R. E., et al.
(författare)
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Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of large-amplitude, parallel, electrostatic waves associated with magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:11, s. 5626-5634
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale satellites of large-amplitude, parallel, electrostatic waves associated with magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause. The observed waves have parallel electric fields (E-||) with amplitudes on the order of 100mV/m and display nonlinear characteristics that suggest a possible net E-||. These waves are observed within the ion diffusion region and adjacent to (within several electron skin depths) the electron diffusion region. They are in or near the magnetosphere side current layer. Simulation results support that the strong electrostatic linear and nonlinear wave activities appear to be driven by a two stream instability, which is a consequence of mixing cold (<10eV) plasma in the magnetosphere with warm (similar to 100eV) plasma from the magnetosheath on a freshly reconnected magnetic field line. The frequent observation of these waves suggests that cold plasma is often present near the magnetopause.
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| 9. |
- Khotyaintsev, Yuri V., et al.
(författare)
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Electron jet of asymmetric reconnection
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:11, s. 5571-5580
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of an electron-scale current sheet and electron outflow jet for asymmetric reconnection with guide field at the subsolar magnetopause. The electron jet observed within the reconnection region has an electron Mach number of 0.35 and is associated with electron agyrotropy. The jet is unstable to an electrostatic instability which generates intense waves with E-vertical bar amplitudes reaching up to 300mVm(-1) and potentials up to 20% of the electron thermal energy. We see evidence of interaction between the waves and the electron beam, leading to quick thermalization of the beam and stabilization of the instability. The wave phase speed is comparable to the ion thermal speed, suggesting that the instability is of Buneman type, and therefore introduces electron-ion drag and leads to braking of the electron flow. Our observations demonstrate that electrostatic turbulence plays an important role in the electron-scale physics of asymmetric reconnection.
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| 10. |
- Eastwood, J. P., et al.
(författare)
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Ion-scale secondary flux ropes generated by magnetopause reconnection as resolved by MMS
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:10, s. 4716-4724
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- New Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations of small-scale (similar to 7 ion inertial length radius) flux transfer events (FTEs) at the dayside magnetopause are reported. The 10 km MMS tetrahedron size enables their structure and properties to be calculated using a variety of multispacecraft techniques, allowing them to be identified as flux ropes, whose flux content is small (similar to 22 kWb). The current density, calculated using plasma and magnetic field measurements independently, is found to be filamentary. Intercomparison of the plasma moments with electric and magnetic field measurements reveals structured non-frozen-in ion behavior. The data are further compared with a particle-in-cell simulation. It is concluded that these small-scale flux ropes, which are not seen to be growing, represent a distinct class of FTE which is generated on the magnetopause by secondary reconnection.
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