| 1. |
- Agapitov, Oleksiy, et al.
(författare)
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Multispacecraft observations of chorus emissions as a tool for the plasma density fluctuations' remote sensing
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 116, s. A09222-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Discrete ELF/VLF chorus emissions are the most intense electromagnetic plasma waves that are observed in the radiation belts and in the outer magnetosphere of the Earth. They are assumed to propagate approximately along the magnetic field lines and are generated in source regions in the vicinity of the magnetic equator and in minimum B pockets in the dayside outer zone of the magnetosphere. The presence of plasma density irregularities along the raypath causes a loss of phase coherence of the chorus wave packets. These irregularities are often present around the plasmapause and in the radiation belts; they occur at scales ranging from a few meters up to several hundred kilometers and can be highly anisotropic. Such irregularities result in fluctuations of the dielectric permittivity, whose statistical properties can be studied making use of intersatellite correlations of whistler waves' phases and amplitudes. We demonstrate how the whistler-mode wave properties can be used to infer statistical characteristics of the density fluctuations. The analogy between weakly coupled oscillators under the action of uncorrelated random forces and wave propagation in a randomly fluctuating medium is used to determine the wave phase dependence on the duration of signal recording time. We study chorus whistler-mode waves observed by the Cluster WBD instrument and apply intersatellite correlation analysis to determine the statistical characteristics of the waveform phases and amplitudes. We then infer the statistical characteristics of the plasma density fluctuations and evaluate the spatial distribution of the irregularities using the same chorus events observed by the four Cluster spacecraft.
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| 2. |
- Chen, Li-Jen, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence of an extended electron current sheet and its neighboring magnetic island during magnetotail reconnection
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 113:A12, s. A12213-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have identified a spatially extended electron current sheet (ECS) and its adjacent magnetic island during a magnetotail reconnection event with no appreciable guide field. This finding is based on data from the four Cluster spacecraft and is enabled by detailed maps of electron distribution functions and DC electric fields within the diffusion region. The maps are developed using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations with a mass ratio m(i)/m(e) = 800. One spacecraft crossed the ECS earthward of the reconnection null and, together with the other three spacecraft, registered the following properties: (1) The ECS is colocated with a layer of bipolar electric fields normal to the ECS, pointing toward the ECS, and with a half width less than 8 electron skin depths. (2) In the inflow region up to the ECS and separatrices, electrons have a temperature anisotropy (Te-parallel to/Te-perpendicular to > 1), and the anisotropy increases toward the ECS. (3) Within about 1 ion skin depth (d(i)) above and below the ECS, the electron density decreases toward the ECS by a factor of 3-4, reaching a minimum at edges of the ECS, and has a local distinct maximum at the ECS center. (4) A di-scale magnetic island is attached to the ECS, separating it from another reconnection layer. Our simulations established that the electric field normal to the ECS is due to charge imbalance and is of the ECS scale, and ions exhibit electron-scale structures in response to this electric field.
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| 3. |
- Forsyth, C., et al.
(författare)
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Temporal evolution and electric potential structure of the auroral acceleration region from multispacecraft measurements
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 117:12, s. A12203-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bright aurorae can be excited by the acceleration of electrons into the atmosphere in violation of ideal magnetohydrodynamics. Modeling studies predict that the accelerating electric potential consists of electric double layers at the boundaries of an acceleration region but observations suggest that particle acceleration occurs throughout this region. Using multispacecraft observations from Cluster, we have examined two upward current regions on 14 December 2009. Our observations show that the potential difference below C4 and C3 changed by up to 1.7 kV between their respective crossings, which were separated by 150 s. The field-aligned current density observed by C3 was also larger than that observed by C4. The potential drop above C3 and C4 was approximately the same in both crossings. Using a novel technique of quantitively comparing the electron spectra measured by Cluster 1 and 3, which were separated in altitude, we determine when these spacecraft made effectively magnetically conjugate observations, and we use these conjugate observations to determine the instantaneous distribution of the potential drop in the AAR. Our observations show that an average of 15% of the potential drop in the AAR was located between C1 at 6235 km and C3 at 4685 km altitude, with a maximum potential drop between the spacecraft of 500 V, and that the majority of the potential drop was below C3. Assuming a spatial invariance along the length of the upward current region, we discuss these observations in terms of temporal changes and the vertical structure of the electrostatic potential drop and in the context of existing models and previous single- and multispacecraft observations.
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| 4. |
- Hasegawa, H., et al.
(författare)
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Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at the Earth's magnetopause : Multiscale development and associated reconnection
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 114:12, s. A12207-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examine traversals on 20 November 2001 of the equatorial magnetopause boundary layer simultaneously at similar to 1500 magnetic local time (MLT) by the Geotail spacecraft and at similar to 1900 MLT by the Cluster spacecraft, which detected rolled-up MHD-scale vortices generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) under prolonged northward interplanetary magnetic field conditions. Our purpose is to address the excitation process of the KHI, MHD-scale and ion-scale structures of the vortices, and the formation mechanism of the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL). The observed KH wavelength (>4 x 10(4) km) is considerably longer than predicted by the linear theory from the thickness (similar to 1000 km) of the dayside velocity shear layer. Our analyses suggest that the KHI excitation is facilitated by combined effects of the formation of the LLBL presumably through high-latitude magnetopause reconnection and compressional magnetosheath fluctuations on the dayside, and that breakup and/or coalescence of the vortices are beginning around 1900 MLT. Current layers of thickness a few times ion inertia length similar to 100 km and of magnetic shear similar to 60 degrees existed at the trailing edges of the vortices. Identified in one such current sheet were signatures of local reconnection: Alfvenic outflow jet within a bifurcated current sheet, nonzero magnetic field component normal to the sheet, and field-aligned beam of accelerated electrons. Because of its incipient nature, however, this reconnection process is unlikely to lead to the observed dusk-flank LLBL. It is thus inferred that the flank LLBL resulted from other mechanisms, namely, diffusion and/or remote reconnection unidentified by Cluster.
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| 5. |
- Hasegawa, H., et al.
(författare)
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Reconstruction of a bipolar magnetic signature in an earthward jet in the tail : Flux rope or 3D guide-field reconnection?
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 112:A11, s. A11206-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Southward-then-northward magnetic perturbations are often seen in the tail plasma sheet, along with earthward jets, but the generation mechanism of such bipolar B-z ( magnetic flux rope created through multiple X-line reconnection, transient reconnection, or else) has been controversial. At similar to 2313 UT on 13 August 2002, Cluster encountered a bipolar B-z at the leading edge of an earthward jet, with one of the four spacecraft in the middle of the current sheet. Application to this bipolar signature of Grad-Shafranov ( GS) reconstruction, the technique for recovery of two-dimensional ( 2D) magnetohydrostatic structures, suggests that a flux rope with diameter of similar to 2 R-E was embedded in the jet. To investigate the validity of the GS results, the technique is applied to synthetic data from a three-dimensional ( 3D) MHD simulation, in which a bipolar B-z can be produced through localized ( 3D) reconnection in the presence of guide field B-y ( Shirataka et al., 2006) without invoking multiple X-lines. A flux rope-type structure, which does not in fact exist in the simulation, is reconstructed but with a shape elongated in the jet direction. Unambiguous identification of a mechanism that leads to an observed bipolar B-z thus seems difficult based on the topological property in the GS maps. We however infer that a flux rope was responsible for the bipolar pulse in this particular Cluster event, because the recovered magnetic structure is roughly circular, suggesting a relaxed and minimum energy state. Our results also indicate that one has to be cautious about interpretation of some ( e. g., force-free, or magnetohydrostatic) model-based results.
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| 6. |
- Matsui, H., et al.
(författare)
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Characteristics of storm time electric fields in the inner magnetosphere derived from Cluster data
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 115, s. A11215-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Storm-time electric fields in the inner magnetosphere measured by Cluster are reported in this study. First, we show two events around the time when Dst index is at a minimum. The electric field possibly related to subauroral ion drifts and/or undershielding is measured inside the inner edge of the electron plasma sheet in the eveningside. For the second event observed in the nightside, the electric field is partly related to dipolarization and is considered as inductive. An electric field without coincident magnetic signatures is also observed. Spatial coherence of the electric field is not large when we check multispacecraft data. It is inferred that the electric field in the magnetotail penetrates inside the region 1 current, while it is not clear about the electric field within the region 2 current from our data. Then superposed epoch analyses using 71 storms are performed. Electric fields at R = 3.5-6R(E) and less than 25 degrees of magnetic latitudes are enhanced around the minimum Dst at all magnetic local times. Electric fields during the recovery phase decay on a time scale shorter than that of Dst index, which could be interpreted in terms of the relation between electric field and ring current during that storm phase. AC electric fields are generally larger than DC electric fields, indicating that the former component might play some role in accelerating ring current particles. These results will be useful to update our empirical electric field model.
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| 7. |
- Nakamura, R., et al.
(författare)
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Cluster observations of an ion-scale current sheet in the magnetotail under the presence of a guide field
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 113:A7, s. A07S16-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on Cluster observations of a thin current sheet interval under the presence of a strong vertical bar B-Y vertical bar during a fast earthward flow interval between 1655 UT and 1703 UT on 17 August 2003. The strong vertical bar B-Y vertical bar in the tail could be associated with a strong IMF vertical bar B-Y vertical bar, but the large fluctuations in B-Y, not seen in the IMF, suggest that a varying reconnection rate causes a varying transport of B-Y-dominated magnetic flux and/or a change in B-Y due to the Hall-current system. During the encounter of the high-speed flow, an intense current layer was observed around 1655: 53 UT with a peak current density of 182 nA/m(2), the largest current density observed by the Cluster four-spacecraft magnetic field measurement in the magnetotail. The half width of this current layer was estimated to be similar to 290 km, which was comparable to the ion-inertia length. Its unique signature is that the strong current is mainly field-aligned current flowing close to the center of the plasma sheet. The event was associated with parallel heating of electrons with asymmetries, which suggests that electrons moving along the field lines can contribute to a strong dawn-to-dusk current when the magnetotail current sheet becomes sufficiently thin and active in a strong guide field case.
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| 8. |
- Puhl-Quinn, P. A., et al.
(författare)
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Cluster and DMSP observations of SAID electric fields
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 112:A5, s. A05219-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- [1] We report on magnetically conjugate Cluster and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite observations of subauroral ion drifts (SAID) during moderate geomagnetic activity levels on 8 April 2004. To our knowledge, the field-aligned separation of DMSP and Cluster (approximate to 28,000 km) is the largest separation ever analyzed with respect to the SAID phenomenon. Nonetheless, we show coherent, subauroral magnetosphere-ionosphere (MI) coupling along an entire field line in the post-dusk sector. The four Cluster satellites crossed SAID electric field channels with meridional magnitude E-M of 25 mV/m in situ and latitudinal extent Delta Lambda approximate to 0.5 degrees in the southern and northern hemispheres near 07:00 and 07:30 UT, respectively. Cluster was near perigee (R approximate to 4 R-E) and within 5 degrees (15 degrees) of the magnetic equator for the southern ( northern) crossing. The SAID were located near the plasmapause-within the ring current-plasmasphere overlap region. Downward field-aligned current signatures were observed across both SAID crossings. The most magnetically and temporally conjugate SAID field from DMSP F16A at 07:12 UT was practically identical in latitudinal size to that mapped from Cluster. Since the DMSP ion drift meter saturated at 3000 m/s (or similar to 114 mV/m) and the electrostatically mapped value for E-M from Cluster exceeded 300 mV/m, a magnitude comparison of E-M was not possible. Although the conjugate measurements show similar large-scale SAID features, the differences in substructure highlight the physical and chemical diversity of the conjugate regions.
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| 9. |
- Retino, A., et al.
(författare)
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Cluster observations of energetic electrons and electromagnetic fields within a reconnecting thin current sheet in the Earth's magnetotail
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 113:A12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study the acceleration of energetic electrons during magnetotail reconnection by using Cluster simultaneous measurements of three-dimensional electron distribution functions, electric and magnetic fields, and waves in a thin current sheet. We present observations of two consecutive current sheet crossings where the flux of electrons 35 127 keV peaks within an interval of tailward flows. The first crossing shows the signatures of a tailward moving flux rope. The observed magnetic field and density indicate that the flux rope was very dynamic, and a comparison with numerical simulation suggests a crossing right after coalescence of smaller flux ropes. The second crossing occurs within the ion diffusion region. The flux of electrons is largest within the flux rope where they are mainly directed perpendicular to the magnetic field. At the magnetic separatrices, the fluxes are smaller, but the energy spectra are harder and electrons are mainly field aligned. Reconnection electric fields E-Y similar to 7 mV/m are observed within the diffusion region, whereas in the flux rope, EY are much smaller. Waves around lower hybrid frequency do not show a clear correlation with energetic electrons. We interpret the field-aligned electrons at the separatrices as directly accelerated by the reconnection electric field in the diffusion region, whereas we interpret the perpendicular electrons as trapped within the flux rope and accelerated by a combination of betatron acceleration with nonadiabatic pitch-angle scattering. Our observations indicate that thin current sheets during dynamic reconnection are important for in situ production of energetic electrons and that simultaneous measurements of electrons and electromagnetic fields within thin sheets are crucial to understand the acceleration mechanisms.
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| 10. |
- Wang, Rongsheng, et al.
(författare)
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Asymmetry in the current sheet and secondary magnetic flux ropes during guide field magnetic reconnection
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 117, s. A07223-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A magnetic reconnection event with a moderate guide field encountered by Cluster in the near-Earth tail on 28 August 2002 is reported. The guide field points dawnward during this event. The quadrupolar structure of the Hall magnetic field within the ion diffusion region is distorted toward the northern hemisphere in the earthward part while toward the southern hemisphere tailward part of X-line. Observations of current density and electron pitch angle distribution indicate that the distorted quadrupolar structure is formed due to a deformed Hall electron current system. Cluster crossed the ion diffusion region from south to north earthward of the X-line. An electron density cavity is confirmed in the northern separatrix layer while a thin current layer (TCL) is measured in the southern separatrix layer. The TCL is formed due to electrons injected into the X-line along the magnetic field. These observations are different from simulation results where the cavity is produced associated with inflow electrons along the southern separatrix while the strong current sheet appears with the outflow electron beam along the northern separatrix. The energy of the inflowing electron in the separatrix layer could extend up to 10 keV. Energetic electron fluxes up to 50 keV have a clear peak in the TCL. The length of the separatrix layer is estimated to be at least 65 c/omega(pi). These observations suggest that electrons could be pre-accelerated before they are ejected into the X-line region along the separatrix. Multiple secondary flux ropes moving earthward are observed within the diffusion region. These secondary flux ropes are all identified earthward of the observed TCL. These observations further suggest there are numerous small scale structures within the ion diffusion region.
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