| 1. |
- Zouganelis, I., et al.
(författare)
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The Solar Orbiter Science Activity Plan : Translating solar and heliospheric physics questions into action
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP SCIENCES S A. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 642
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar Orbiter is the first space mission observing the solar plasma both in situ and remotely, from a close distance, in and out of the ecliptic. The ultimate goal is to understand how the Sun produces and controls the heliosphere, filling the Solar System and driving the planetary environments. With six remote-sensing and four in-situ instrument suites, the coordination and planning of the operations are essential to address the following four top-level science questions: (1) What drives the solar wind and where does the coronal magnetic field originate?; (2) How do solar transients drive heliospheric variability?; (3) How do solar eruptions produce energetic particle radiation that fills the heliosphere?; (4) How does the solar dynamo work and drive connections between the Sun and the heliosphere? Maximising the mission's science return requires considering the characteristics of each orbit, including the relative position of the spacecraft to Earth (affecting downlink rates), trajectory events (such as gravitational assist manoeuvres), and the phase of the solar activity cycle. Furthermore, since each orbit's science telemetry will be downloaded over the course of the following orbit, science operations must be planned at mission level, rather than at the level of individual orbits. It is important to explore the way in which those science questions are translated into an actual plan of observations that fits into the mission, thus ensuring that no opportunities are missed. First, the overarching goals are broken down into specific, answerable questions along with the required observations and the so-called Science Activity Plan (SAP) is developed to achieve this. The SAP groups objectives that require similar observations into Solar Orbiter Observing Plans, resulting in a strategic, top-level view of the optimal opportunities for science observations during the mission lifetime. This allows for all four mission goals to be addressed. In this paper, we introduce Solar Orbiter's SAP through a series of examples and the strategy being followed.
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| 2. |
- 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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| 3. |
- Fadanelli, S., et al.
(författare)
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Four-Spacecraft Measurements of the Shape and Dimensionality of Magnetic Structures in the Near-Earth Plasma Environment
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 124:8, s. 6850-6868
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a new method for determining the main relevant features of the local magnetic field configuration, based entirely on the knowledge of the magnetic field gradient four‐spacecraft measurements. The method, named “magnetic configuration analysis” (MCA), estimates the spatial scales on which the magnetic field varies locally. While it directly derives from the well‐known magnetic directional derivative and magnetic rotational analysis procedures (Shi et al., 2005, htpps://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022454; Shen et al., 2007, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JA011584), MCA was specifically designed to address the actual magnetic field geometry. By applying MCA to multispacecraft data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) satellites, we perform both case and statistical analyses of local magnetic field shape and dimensionality at very high cadence and small scales. We apply this technique to different near‐Earth environments and define a classification scheme for the type of configuration observed. While our case studies allow us to benchmark the method with those used in past works, our statistical analysis unveils the typical shape of magnetic configurations and their statistical distributions. We show that small‐scale magnetic configurations are generally elongated, displaying forms of cigar and blade shapes, but occasionally being planar in shape like thin pancakes (mostly inside current sheets). Magnetic configurations, however, rarely show isotropy in their magnetic variance. The planar nature of magnetic configurations and, most importantly, their scale lengths strongly depend on the plasma β parameter. Finally, the most invariant direction is statistically aligned with the electric current, reminiscent of the importance of electromagnetic forces in shaping the local magnetic configuration.
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| 4. |
- Fuselier, S. A., et al.
(författare)
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High-density O+ in Earth's outer magnetosphere and its effect on dayside magnetopause magnetic reconnection
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 124:12, s. 10257-10269
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The warm plasma cloak is a source of magnetospheric plasma that contain significant O+. When the O+ density in the magnetosphere near the magnetopause is >0.2 cm(-3) and the H+ density is <1.5 cm(-3), then O+ dominates the magnetospheric ion mass density by more than a factor of 2. A survey is conducted of such O+-rich warm plasma cloak intervals and their effect on reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause. The survey uses data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) and the results are compared and combined with a previous survey of the warm plasma cloak. Overall, the warm plasma cloak and the O+-rich warm plasma cloak reduce the magnetopause reconnection rate by >20% due to mass-loading only about 2% to 4% of the time. However, during geomagnetic storms, O+ dominates the mass density of the warm plasma cloak and these mass densities are very high. Therefore, a separate study is conducted to determine the effect of the warm plasma cloak on magnetopause reconnection during geomagnetically disturbed times. This study shows that the warm plasma cloak reduces the reconnection rate significantly about 25% of the time during disturbed conditions.
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| 5. |
- Fuselier, S. A., et al.
(författare)
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Mass Loading the Earth's Dayside Magnetopause Boundary Layer and Its Effect on Magnetic Reconnection
- 2019
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 46:12, s. 6204-6213
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When the interplanetary magnetic field is northward for a period of time, O+ from the high-latitude ionosphere escapes along reconnected magnetic field lines into the dayside magnetopause boundary layer. Dual-lobe reconnection closes these field lines, which traps O+ and mass loads the boundary layer. This O+ is an additional source of magnetospheric plasma that interacts with magnetosheath plasma through magnetic reconnection. This mass loading and interaction is illustrated through analysis of a magnetopause crossing by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. While in the O+-rich boundary layer, the interplanetary magnetic field turns southward. As the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft cross the high-shear magnetopause, reconnection signatures are observed. While the reconnection rate is likely reduced by the mass loading, reconnection is not suppressed at the magnetopause. The high-latitude dayside ionosphere is therefore a source of magnetospheric ions that contributes often to transient reduction in the reconnection rate at the dayside magnetopause.
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| 6. |
- Toledo-Redondo, S., et al.
(författare)
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Kinetic Interaction of Cold and Hot Protons With an Oblique EMIC Wave Near the Dayside Reconnecting Magnetopause
- 2021
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 48:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report observations of the ion dynamics inside an Alfven branch wave that propagates near the reconnecting dayside magnetopause. The measured frequency, wave normal angle and polarization are consistent with the predictions of a dispersion solver. The magnetospheric plasma contains hot protons (keV), cold protons (eV), plus some heavy ions. While the cold protons follow the magnetic field fluctuations and remain frozen-in, the hot protons are at the limit of magnetization. The cold protons exchange energy back and forth, adiabatically, with the wave fields. The cold proton velocity fluctuations contribute to balance the Hall term fluctuations in Ohm's law, and the wave E field has small ellipticity and right-handed polarization. The dispersion solver indicates that increasing the cold proton density facilitates propagation and amplification of these waves at oblique angles, as for the observed wave. Plain Language Summary The Earth's magnetosphere is a very dilute cloud of charged particles that are trapped in the Earth's magnetic field. This cloud is surrounded by the solar wind, another very dilute gas that flows supersonically throughout the solar system. These two plasmas can couple to each other via magnetic reconnection, a fundamental plasma process that occurs at the dayside region of the interface between the two plasmas. When reconnection occurs, large amounts of energy and particles enter the magnetosphere, driving the near Earth space dynamics and generating, for instance, aurorae. The magnetospheric plasma sources are the solar wind and the Earth's ionosphere. Multiple plasma populations can be found inside the Earth's magnetosphere, depending on the plasma origin and its time history, as well as the magnetospheric forcing of the solar wind. In this study, we show how the presence of multiple particle populations at the interface between the solar wind and the magnetosphere modifies the properties of the waves that propagate there. Waves are known to play a fundamental role in converting energy and heating these very dilute charged gas clouds.
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| 7. |
- Li, Yu-Xuan, et al.
(författare)
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Quantification of Cold-Ion Beams in a Magnetic Reconnection Jet
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-987X. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cold (few eV) ions of ionospheric origin are widely observed in the lobe region of Earth's magnetotail and can enter the ion jet region after magnetic reconnection is triggered in the magnetotail. Here, we investigate a magnetotail crossing with cold ions in one tailward and two earthward ion jets observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) constellation of spacecraft. Cold ions co-existing with hot plasma-sheet ions form types of ion velocity distribution functions (VDFs) in the three jets. In one earthward jet, MMS observe cold-ion beams with large velocities parallel to the magnetic fields, and we perform quantitative analysis on the ion VDFs in this jet. The cold ions, together with the hot ions, are reconnection outflow ions and are a minor population in terms of number density inside this jet. The average bulk speed of the cold-ion beams is approximately 38% larger than that of the hot plasma-sheet ions. The cold-ion beams inside the explored jet are about one order of magnitude colder than the hot plasma-sheet ions. These cold-ion beams could be accelerated by the Hall electric field in the cold ion diffusion region and the shrinking magnetic field lines through the Fermi effect.
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| 8. |
- Toledo-Redondo, S., et al.
(författare)
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Impacts of Ionospheric Ions on Magnetic Reconnection and Earth's Magnetosphere Dynamics
- 2021
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Ingår i: Reviews of geophysics. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 8755-1209 .- 1944-9208. ; 59:3
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ionospheric ions (mainly H+, He+, and O+) escape from the ionosphere and populate the Earth's magnetosphere. Their thermal energies are usually low when they first escape the ionosphere, typically a few electron volt to tens of electron volt, but they are energized in their journey through the magnetosphere. The ionospheric population is variable, and it makes significant contributions to the magnetospheric mass density in key regions where magnetic reconnection is at work. Solar wind—magnetosphere coupling occurs primarily via magnetic reconnection, a key plasma process that enables transfer of mass and energy into the near-Earth space environment. Reconnection leads to the triggering of magnetospheric storms, auroras, energetic particle precipitation and a host of other magnetospheric phenomena. Several works in the last decades have attempted to statistically quantify the amount of ionospheric plasma supplied to the magnetosphere, including the two key regions where magnetic reconnection occurs: the dayside magnetopause and the magnetotail. Recent in situ observations by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft and associated modeling have advanced our current understanding of how ionospheric ions alter the magnetic reconnection process, including its onset and efficiency. This article compiles the current understanding of the ionospheric plasma supply to the magnetosphere. It reviews both the quantification of these sources and their effects on the process of magnetic reconnection. It also provides a global description of how the ionospheric ion contribution modifies the way the solar wind couples to the Earth's magnetosphere and how these ions modify the global dynamics of the near-Earth space environment.Plain Language SummaryAbove the neutral atmosphere, space is filled with charged particles, which are tied to the Earth's magnetic field. The particles come from two sources, the solar wind and the Earth's upper atmosphere. Most of the solar wind particles are deflected by the Earth´s magnetic field, but some can penetrate into near-Earth space. The ionized layer of the upper atmosphere is continuously ejecting particles into space, which have low energies and are difficult to measure. We investigate the relative importance of the two charged particle sources for the dynamics of plasma processes in near-Earth space. In particular, we consider the effects of these sources in magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnection allows initially separated plasma regions to become magnetically connected and mix, and converts magnetic energy to kinetic energy of charged particles. Magnetic reconnection is the main driver of geomagnetic activity in the near-Earth space, and is responsible for the release of energy that drives a variety of space weather effects. We highlight the fact that plasma from the ionized upper atmosphere contributes a significant part of the density in the key regions where magnetic reconnection is at work, and that this contribution is larger when the geomagnetic activity is high.
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| 9. |
- Toledo-Redondo, S., et al.
(författare)
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Statistical Observations of Proton-Band Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves in the Outer Magnetosphere: Full Wavevector Determination
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : John Wiley and Sons Inc. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 129:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves mediate energy transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere, relativistic electron precipitation, or thermalization of the ring current population, to name a few. How these processes take place depends on the wave properties, such as the wavevector and polarization. However, inferring the wavevector from in-situ measurements is problematic since one needs to disentangle spatial and time variations. Using 8 years of Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission observations in the dayside magnetosphere, we present an algorithm to detect proton-band EMIC waves in the Earth's dayside magnetosphere, and find that they are present roughly 15% of the time. Their normalized frequency presents a dawn-dusk asymmetry, with waves in the dawn flank magnetosphere having larger frequency than in the dusk, subsolar, and dawn near subsolar region. It is shown that the observations are unstable to the ion cyclotron instability. We obtain the wave polarization and wavevector by comparing Single Value Decomposition and Ampere methods. We observe that for most waves the perpendicular wavenumber (k⊥) is larger than the inverse of the proton gyroradius (ρi), that is, k⊥ρi > 1, while the parallel wavenumber is smaller than the inverse of the ion gyroradius, that is, k‖ρi < 1. Left-hand polarized waves are associated with small wave normal angles (θBk < 30°), while linearly polarized waves are associated with large wave normal angles (θBk > 30°). This work constitutes, to our knowledge, the first attempt to statistically infer the full wavevector of proton-band EMIC waves observed in the outer magnetosphere.
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| 10. |
- Toledo-Redondo, S., et al.
(författare)
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Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling During Radial Interplanetary Magnetic Field Conditions : Simultaneous Multi-Point Observations
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 126:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In-situ spacecraft missions are powerful assets to study processes that occur in space plasmas. One of their main limitations, however, is extrapolating such local measurements to the global scales of the system. To overcome this problem at least partially, multi-point measurements can be used. There are several multi-spacecraft missions currently operating in the Earth's magnetosphere, and the simultaneous use of the data collected by them provides new insights into the large-scale properties and evolution of magnetospheric plasma processes. In this work, we focus on studying the Earth's magnetopause (MP) using a conjunction between the Magnetospheric Multiscale and Cluster fleets, when both missions skimmed the MP for several hours at distant locations during radial interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The observed MP positions as a function of the evolving solar wind conditions are compared to model predictions of the MP. We observe an inflation of the magnetosphere (similar to 0.7 R-E), consistent with magnetosheath pressure decrease during radial IMF conditions, which is less pronounced on the flank (<0.2 R-E). There is observational evidence of magnetic reconnection in the subsolar region for the whole encounter, and in the dusk flank for the last portion of the encounter, suggesting that reconnection was extending more than 15 R-E. However, reconnection jets were not always observed, suggesting that reconnection was patchy, intermittent or both. Shear flows reduce the reconnection rate up to similar to 30% in the dusk flank according to predictions, and the plasma beta enhancement in the magnetosheath during radial IMF favors reconnection suppression by the diamagnetic drift.
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