| 1. |
- Chasapis, A., et al.
(författare)
-
Electron Heating at Kinetic Scales in Magnetosheath Turbulence
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 836:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a statistical study of coherent structures at kinetic scales, using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the Earth's magnetosheath. We implemented the multi-spacecraft partial variance of increments (PVI) technique to detect these structures, which are associated with intermittency at kinetic scales. We examine the properties of the electron heating occurring within such structures. We find that, statistically, structures with a high PVI index are regions of significant electron heating. We also focus on one such structure, a current sheet, which shows some signatures consistent with magnetic reconnection. Strong parallel electron heating coincides with whistler emissions at the edges of the current sheet.
|
|
| 2. |
- Khotyaintsev, Yuri V., et al.
(författare)
-
Electron jet of asymmetric reconnection
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:11, s. 5571-5580
-
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.
|
|
| 3. |
- Johlander, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
-
Rippled Quasiperpendicular Shock Observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Spacecraft
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 117:16
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collisionless shock nonstationarity arising from microscale physics influences shock structure and particle acceleration mechanisms. Nonstationarity has been difficult to quantify due to the small spatial and temporal scales. We use the closely spaced (subgyroscale), high-time-resolution measurements from one rapid crossing of Earth's quasiperpendicular bow shock by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft to compare competing nonstationarity processes. Using MMS's high-cadence kinetic plasma measurements, we show that the shock exhibits nonstationarity in the form of ripples.
|
|
| 4. |
- Li, Wenya, et al.
(författare)
-
Kinetic evidence of magnetic reconnection due to Kelvin-Helmholtz waves
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:11, s. 5635-5643
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability at the Earth's magnetopause is predominantly excited during northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Magnetic reconnection due to KH waves has been suggested as one of the mechanisms to transfer solar wind plasma into the magnetosphere. We investigate KH waves observed at the magnetopause by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission; in particular, we study the trailing edges of KH waves with Alfvenic ion jets. We observe gradual mixing of magnetospheric and magnetosheath ions at the boundary layer. The magnetospheric electrons with energy up to 80keV are observed on the magnetosheath side of the jets, which indicates that they escape into the magnetosheath through reconnected magnetic field lines. At the same time, the low-energy (below 100eV) magnetosheath electrons enter the magnetosphere and are heated in the field-aligned direction at the high-density edge of the jets. Our observations provide unambiguous kinetic evidence for ongoing reconnection due to KH waves.
|
|
| 5. |
- Norgren, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
-
Finite gyroradius effects in the electron outflow of asymmetric magnetic reconnection
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:13, s. 6724-6733
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present observations of asymmetric magnetic reconnection showing evidence of electron demagnetization in the electron outflow. The observations were made at the magnetopause by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, separated by approximate to 15km. The reconnecting current sheet has negligible guide field, and all four spacecraft likely pass close to the electron diffusion region just south of the X line. In the electron outflow near the X line, all four spacecraft observe highly structured electron distributions in a region comparable to a few electron gyroradii. The distributions consist of a core with T-vertical bar>T and a nongyrotropic crescent perpendicular to the magnetic field. The crescents are associated with finite gyroradius effects of partly demagnetized electrons. These observations clearly demonstrate the manifestation of finite gyroradius effects in an electron-scale reconnection current sheet.
|
|
| 6. |
- Voros, Z., et al.
(författare)
-
MMS Observation of Magnetic Reconnection in the Turbulent Magnetosheath
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 122:11, s. 11442-11467
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we use the full armament of the MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale) spacecraft to study magnetic reconnection in the turbulent magnetosheath downstream of a quasi-parallel bow shock. Contrarily to the magnetopause and magnetotail cases, only a few observations of reconnection in the magnetosheath have been reported. The case study in this paper presents, for the first time, both fluid-scale and kinetic-scale signatures of an ongoing reconnection in the turbulent magnetosheath. The spacecraft are crossing the reconnection inflow and outflow regions and the ion diffusion region (IDR). Inside the reconnection outflows D shape ion distributions are observed. Inside the IDR mixing of ion populations, crescent-like velocity distributions and ion accelerations are observed. One of the spacecraft skims the outer region of the electron diffusion region, where parallel electric fields, energy dissipation/conversion, electron pressure tensor agyrotropy, electron temperature anisotropy, and electron accelerations are observed. Some of the difficulties of the observations of magnetic reconnection in turbulent plasma are also outlined.
|
|
| 7. |
- Breuillard, H., et al.
(författare)
-
New Insights into the Nature of Turbulence in the Earth's Magnetosheath Using Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission Data
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 859:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Earth's magnetosheath, which is characterized by highly turbulent fluctuations, is usually divided into two regions of different properties as a function of the angle between the interplanetary magnetic field and the shock normal. In this study, we make use of high-time resolution instruments on board the Magnetospheric MultiScale spacecraft to determine and compare the properties of subsolar magnetosheath turbulence in both regions, i. e., downstream of the quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular bow shocks. In particular, we take advantage of the unprecedented temporal resolution of the Fast Plasma Investigation instrument to show the density fluctuations down to sub-ion scales for the first time. We show that the nature of turbulence is highly compressible down to electron scales, particularly in the quasi-parallel magnetosheath. In this region, the magnetic turbulence also shows an inertial (Kolmogorov-like) range, indicating that the fluctuations are not formed locally, in contrast with the quasi-perpendicular magnetosheath. We also show that the electromagnetic turbulence is dominated by electric fluctuations at sub-ion scales (f > 1Hz) and that magnetic and electric spectra steepen at the largest-electron scale. The latter indicates a change in the nature of turbulence at electron scales. Finally, we show that the electric fluctuations around the electron gyrofrequency are mostly parallel in the quasi-perpendicular magnetosheath, where intense whistlers are observed. This result suggests that energy dissipation, plasma heating, and acceleration might be driven by intense electrostatic parallel structures/waves, which can be linked to whistler waves.
|
|
| 8. |
- Graham, Daniel B., et al.
(författare)
-
Electron currents and heating in the ion diffusion region of asymmetric reconnection
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:10, s. 4691-4700
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this letter the structure of the ion diffusion region of magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause is investigated using the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft. The ion diffusion region is characterized by a strong DC electric field, approximately equal to the Hall electric field, intense currents, and electron heating parallel to the background magnetic field. Current structures well below ion spatial scales are resolved, and the electron motion associated with lower hybrid drift waves is shown to contribute significantly to the total current density. The electron heating is shown to be consistent with large-scale parallel electric fields trapping and accelerating electrons, rather than wave-particle interactions. These results show that sub-ion scale processes occur in the ion diffusion region and are important for understanding electron heating and acceleration.
|
|
| 9. |
- Graham, Daniel B., et al.
(författare)
-
Lower hybrid waves in the ion diffusion and magnetospheric inflow regions
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 122:1, s. 517-533
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role and properties of lower hybrid waves in the ion diffusion region and magnetospheric inflow region of asymmetric reconnection are investigated using the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. Two distinct groups of lower hybrid waves are observed in the ion diffusion region and magnetospheric inflow region, which have distinct properties and propagate in opposite directions along the magnetopause. One group develops near the ion edge in the magnetospheric inflow, where magnetosheath ions enter the magnetosphere through the finite gyroradius effect and are driven by the ion-ion cross-field instability due to the interaction between the magnetosheath ions and cold magnetospheric ions. This leads to heating of the cold magnetospheric ions. The second group develops at the sharpest density gradient, where the Hall electric field is observed and is driven by the lower hybrid drift instability. These drift waves produce cross-field particle diffusion, enabling magnetosheath electrons to enter the magnetospheric inflow region thereby broadening the density gradient in the ion diffusion region.
|
|
| 10. |
- Yordanova, Emiliya, et al.
(författare)
-
Electron scale structures and magnetic reconnection signatures in the turbulent magnetosheath
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:12, s. 5969-5978
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collisionless space plasma turbulence can generate reconnecting thin current sheets as suggested by recent results of numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulations. The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission provides the first serious opportunity to verify whether small ion-electron-scale reconnection, generated by turbulence, resembles the reconnection events frequently observed in the magnetotail or at the magnetopause. Here we investigate field and particle observations obtained by the MMS fleet in the turbulent terrestrial magnetosheath behind quasi-parallel bow shock geometry. We observe multiple small-scale current sheets during the event and present a detailed look of one of the detected structures. The emergence of thin current sheets can lead to electron scale structures. Within these structures, we see signatures of ion demagnetization, electron jets, electron heating, and agyrotropy suggesting that MMS spacecraft observe reconnection at these scales.
|
|
