| 1. |
- Breuillard, H., et al.
(författare)
-
The Properties of Lion Roars and Electron Dynamics in Mirror Mode Waves Observed by the Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:1, s. 93-103
-
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.
|
|
| 2. |
- Breuillard, H., et al.
(författare)
-
Multispacecraft analysis of dipolarization fronts and associated whistler wave emissions using MMS data
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:14, s. 7279-7286
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dipolarization fronts (DFs), embedded in bursty bulk flows, play a crucial role in Earth's plasma sheet dynamics because the energy input from the solar wind is partly dissipated in their vicinity. This dissipation is in the form of strong low-frequency waves that can heat and accelerate energetic electrons up to the high-latitude plasma sheet. However, the dynamics of DF propagation and associated low-frequency waves in the magnetotail are still under debate due to instrumental limitations and spacecraft separation distances. In May 2015 the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission was in a string-of-pearls configuration with an average intersatellite distance of 160km, which allows us to study in detail the microphysics of DFs. Thus, in this letter we employ MMS data to investigate the properties of dipolarization fronts propagating earthward and associated whistler mode wave emissions. We show that the spatial dynamics of DFs are below the ion gyroradius scale in this region (approximate to 500km), which can modify the dynamics of ions in the vicinity of the DF (e.g., making their motion nonadiabatic). We also show that whistler wave dynamics have a temporal scale of the order of the ion gyroperiod (a few seconds), indicating that the perpendicular temperature anisotropy can vary on such time scales.
|
|
| 3. |
- Torbert, R. B., et al.
(författare)
-
Electron-scale dynamics of the diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection in space
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Science. - : AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 362:6421, s. 1391-1395
-
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.
|
|
| 4. |
- Torbert, R. B., et al.
(författare)
-
The FIELDS Instrument Suite on MMS : Scientific Objectives, Measurements, and Data Products
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Science+Business Media B.V.. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 199:1-4, s. 105-135
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The FIELDS instrumentation suite on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission provides comprehensive measurements of the full vector magnetic and electric fields in the reconnection regions investigated by MMS, including the dayside magnetopause and the night-side magnetotail acceleration regions out to 25 Re. Six sensors on each of the four MMS spacecraft provide overlapping measurements of these fields with sensitive cross-calibrations both before and after launch. The FIELDS magnetic sensors consist of redundant flux-gate magnetometers (AFG and DFG) over the frequency range from DC to 64 Hz, a search coil magnetometer (SCM) providing AC measurements over the full whistler mode spectrum expected to be seen on MMS, and an Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) that calibrates offsets for the magnetometers. The FIELDS three-axis electric field measurements are provided by two sets of biased double-probe sensors (SDP and ADP) operating in a highly symmetric spacecraft environment to reduce significantly electrostatic errors. These sensors are complemented with the EDI electric measurements that are free from all local spacecraft perturbations. Cross-calibrated vector electric field measurements are thus produced from DC to 100 kHz, well beyond the upper hybrid resonance whose frequency provides an accurate determination of the local electron density. Due to its very large geometric factor, EDI also provides very high time resolution (similar to 1 ms) ambient electron flux measurements at a few selected energies near 1 keV. This paper provides an overview of the FIELDS suite, its science objectives and measurement requirements, and its performance as verified in calibration and cross-calibration procedures that result in anticipated errors less than 0.1 nT in B and 0.5 mV/m in E. Summaries of data products that result from FIELDS are also described, as well as algorithms for cross-calibration. Details of the design and performance characteristics of AFG/DFG, SCM, ADP, SDP, and EDI are provided in five companion papers.
|
|
