| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Lavraud, B., et al.
(författare)
-
Currents and associated electron scattering and bouncing near the diffusion region at Earth's magnetopause
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:7, s. 3042-3050
-
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).
|
|
| 4. |
- Fadanelli, S., et al.
(författare)
-
Four-Spacecraft Measurements of the Shape and Dimensionality of Magnetic Structures in the Near-Earth Plasma Environment
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 124:8, s. 6850-6868
-
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.
|
|
| 5. |
- Farrugia, C. J., et al.
(författare)
-
Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission observations and non-force free modeling of a flux transfer event immersed in a super-Alfvenic flow
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:12, s. 6070-6077
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We analyze plasma, magnetic field, and electric field data for a flux transfer event (FTE) to highlight improvements in our understanding of these transient reconnection signatures resulting from high-resolution data. The similar to 20 s long, reverse FTE, which occurred south of the geomagnetic equator near dusk, was immersed in super-Alfvenic flow. The field line twist is illustrated by the behavior of flows parallel/perpendicular to the magnetic field. Four-spacecraft timing and energetic particle pitch angle anisotropies indicate a flux rope (FR) connected to the Northern Hemisphere and moving southeast. The flow forces evidently overcame the magnetic tension. The high-speed flows inside the FR were different from those outside. The external flows were perpendicular to the field as expected for draping of the external field around the FR. Modeling the FR analytically, we adopt a non-force free approach since the current perpendicular to the field is nonzero. It reproduces many features of the observations.
|
|
| 6. |
- Graham, Daniel B., et al.
(författare)
-
Universality of Lower Hybrid Waves at Earth's Magnetopause
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 124:11, s. 8727-8760
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Waves around the lower hybrid frequency are frequently observed at Earth's magnetopause and readily reach very large amplitudes. Determining the properties of lower hybrid waves is crucial because they are thought to contribute to electron and ion heating, cross‐field particle diffusion, anomalous resistivity, and energy transfer between electrons and ions. All these processes could play an important role in magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause and the evolution of the boundary layer. In this paper, the properties of lower hybrid waves at Earth's magnetopause are investigated using the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. For the first time, the properties of the waves are investigated using fields and direct particle measurements. The highest‐resolution electron moments resolve the velocity and density fluctuations of lower hybrid waves, confirming that electrons remain approximately frozen in at lower hybrid wave frequencies. Using fields and particle moments, the dispersion relation is constructed and the wave‐normal angle is estimated to be close to 90° to the background magnetic field. The waves are shown to have a finite parallel wave vector, suggesting that they can interact with parallel propagating electrons. The observed wave properties are shown to agree with theoretical predictions, the previously used single‐spacecraft method, and four‐spacecraft timing analyses. These results show that single‐spacecraft methods can accurately determine lower hybrid wave properties.
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
- Kacem, I., et al.
(författare)
-
Magnetic Reconnection at a Thin Current Sheet Separating Two Interlaced Flux Tubes at the Earth's Magnetopause
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:3, s. 1779-1793
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The occurrence of spatially and temporally variable reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause leads to the complex interaction of magnetic fields from the magnetosphere and magnetosheath. Flux transfer events (FTEs) constitute one such type of interaction. Their main characteristics are (1) an enhanced core magnetic field magnitude and (2) a bipolar magnetic field signature in the component normal to the magnetopause, reminiscent of a large-scale helicoidal flux tube magnetic configuration. However, other geometrical configurations which do not fit this classical picture have also been observed. Using high-resolution measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we investigate an event in the vicinity of the Earth's magnetopause on 7 November 2015. Despite signatures that, at first glance, appear consistent with a classic FTE, based on detailed geometrical and dynamical analyses as well as on topological signatures revealed by suprathermal electron properties, we demonstrate that this event is not consistent with a single, homogenous helicoidal structure. Our analysis rather suggests that it consists of the interaction of two separate sets of magnetic field lines with different connectivities. This complex three-dimensional interaction constructively conspires to produce signatures partially consistent with that of an FTE. We also show that, at the interface between the two sets of field lines, where the observed magnetic pileup occurs, a thin and strong current sheet forms with a large ion jet, which may be consistent with magnetic flux dissipation through magnetic reconnection in the interaction region.
|
|
| 9. |
- Oieroset, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Reconnection With Magnetic Flux Pileup at the Interface of Converging ts at the Magnetopause
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 46:4, s. 1937-1946
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of reconnection in a in current sheet at the interface of interlinked flux tubes carried by nverging reconnection jets at Earth's magnetopause. The ion skin pth-scale width of the interface current sheet and the non-frozen-in ns indicate that Magnetospheric Multiscale crossed the reconnection yer near the X-line, through the ion diffusion region. Significant leup of the reconnecting component of the magnetic field in this and ree other events on approach to the interface current sheet was companied by an increase in magnetic shear and decrease in , leading conditions favorable for reconnection at the interface current sheet. e pileup also led to enhanced available magnetic energy per particle d strong electron heating. The observations shed light on the olution and energy release in 3-D systems with multiple reconnection tes. ain Language Summary The Earth and the solar wind magnetic fields terconnect through a process called magnetic reconnection. The newly connected magnetic field lines are strongly bent and accelerate rticles, similar to a rubber band in a slingshot. In this paper we ve used observations from NASA's Magnetospheric MultiScale spacecraft investigate what happens when two of these slingshot-like magnetic eld lines move toward each other and get tangled up. We found that the o bent magnetic field lines tend to orient themselves perpendicular to ch other as they become interlinked and stretched, similar to what bber bands would do. This reorientation allows the interlinked gnetic fields to reconnect again, releasing part of the built-up gnetic energy as strong electron heating. The results are important cause they show how interlinked magnetic fields, which occur in many lar and astrophysics contexts, reconnect and produce enhanced electron ating, something that was not understood before.
|
|
| 10. |
- Vernisse, Y., et al.
(författare)
-
Signatures of complex magnetic topologies from multiple reconnection sites induced by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 121:10, s. 9926-9939
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission has demonstrated the frequent presence of reconnection exhausts at thin current sheets within Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) waves at the flank magnetopause. Motivated by these recent observations, we performed a statistical analysis of the boundary layers on the magnetosheath side of all KH current sheets on 8 September 2015. We show 86% consistency between the exhaust flows and particle leakage in the magnetosheath boundary layers but further highlight the very frequent presence of additional boundary layer signatures that do not come from the locally observed reconnection exhausts. These additional electron and ion boundary layers, of various durations and at various positions with respect to the leading and trailing boundaries of the KH waves, signal connections to reconnection sites at other locations. Based on the directionality and extent of these layers, we provide an interpretation whereby complex magnetic topologies can arise within KH waves from the combination of reconnection in the equatorial plane and at midlatitudes in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, where additional reconnection sites are expected to be triggered by the three-dimensional field lines interweaving induced by the KH waves at the flanks (owing to differential flow and magnetic field shear with latitude). The present event demonstrates that the three-dimensional development of KH waves can induce plasma entry (through reconnection at both midlatitude and equatorial regions) already sunward of the terminator where the instability remains in its linear stage.
|
|
