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- Apatenkov, S. V., et al.
(author)
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Conjugate observation of sharp dynamical boundary in the inner magnetosphere by Cluster and DMSP spacecraft and ground network
- 2008
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In: Annales Geophysicae. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 26:9, s. 2771-2780
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigate an unusual sharp boundary separating two plasma populations (inner magnetospheric plasma with high fluxes of energetic particles and plasma sheet) observed by the Cluster quartet near its perigee on 16 December 2003. Cluster was in a pearl-on-string configuration at 05:00 MLT and mapped along magnetic field lines to similar to 8-9 R-E in the equatorial plane. It was conjugate to the MIRACLE network and the DMSP F16 spacecraft passed close to Cluster footpoint. The properties of the sharp boundary, repeatedly crossed 7 times by five spacecraft during similar to 10 min, are: (1) upward FAC sheet at the boundary with similar to 30 nA/m(2) current density at Cluster and similar to 2000 nA/m(2) at DMSP; (2) the boundary had an embedded layered structure with different thickness scales, the electron population transition was at similar to 20 km scale at Cluster (<7 km at DMSP), proton population had a scale similar to 100 km, while the FAC sheet thickness was estimated to be similar to 500 km at Cluster (similar to 100 km at DMSP); (3) the boundary propagated in the earthward-eastward direction at similar to 8 km/s in situ (equatorward-eastward similar to 0.8 km/s in ionosphere), and then decelerated and/or stopped. We discuss the boundary formation by the collision of two different plasmas which may include dynamical three-dimensional field-aligned current loops.
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- Apatenkov, S. V., et al.
(author)
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Multi-spacecraft observation of plasma dipolarization/injection in the inner magnetosphere
- 2007
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In: Annales Geophysicae. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 25:3, s. 801-814
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Addressing the origin of the energetic particle injections into the inner magnetosphere, we investigate the 23 February 2004 substorm using a favorable constellation of four Cluster (near perigee), LANL and Geotail spacecraft. Both an energy-dispersed and a dispersionless injection were observed by Cluster crossing the plasma sheet horn, which mapped to 9-12 R-E in the equatorial plane close to the midnight meridian. Two associated narrow equatorward auroral tongues/streamers propagating from the oval poleward boundary could be discerned in the global images obtained by IMAGE/WIC. As compared to the energy-dispersed event, the dispersionless injection front has important distinctions consequently repeated at 4 spacecraft: a simultaneous increase in electron fluxes at energies similar to 1.300 keV, similar to 25 nT increase in B-Z and a local increase by a factor 1.5-1.7 in plasma pressure. The injected plasma was primarily of solar wind origin. We evaluated the change in the injected flux tube configuration during the dipolarization by fitting flux increases observed by the PEACE and RAPID instruments, assuming adiabatic heating and the Liouville theorem. Mapping the locations of the injection front detected by the four spacecraft to the equatorial plane, we estimated the injection front thickness to be similar to 1 R-E and the earthward propagation speed to be similar to 200-400km/s (at 9-12 RE). Based on observed injection properties, we suggest that it is the underpopulated flux tubes (bubbles with enhanced magnetic field and sharp inner front propagating earthward), which accelerate and transport particles into the strong-field dipolar region.
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3. |
- Gonoskov, Arkady, et al.
(author)
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Multicascade proton acceleration by a superintense laser pulse in the regime of relativistically induced slab transparency
- 2009
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 102:18, s. 184801-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The regime of multicascade proton acceleration during the interaction of a 1021–1022 W=cm2 laserpulse with a structured target is proposed. The regime is based on the electron charge displacement under the action of laser ponderomotive force and on the effect of relativistically induced slab transparency which allows realization of the idea of multicascade acceleration. It is shown that a target comprising several thin foils properly spaced apart can optimize the acceleration process and give at the output aquasi-monoenergetic beam of protons with energies up to hundreds of MeV with an energy spread of just a few percent.
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4. |
- Angelopoulos, V., et al.
(author)
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First Results from the THEMIS Mission
- 2008
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In: Space Science Reviews. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0038-6308 .- 1572-9672. ; 141:1-4, s. 453-476
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- THEMIS was launched on February 17, 2007 to determine the trigger and large-scale evolution of substorms. During the first seven months of the mission the five satellites coasted near their injection orbit to avoid differential precession in anticipation of orbit placement, which started in September 2007 and led to a commencement of the baseline mission in December 2007. During the coast phase the probes were put into a string-of-pearls configuration at 100 s of km to 2 R-E along-track separations, which provided a unique view of the magnetosphere and enabled an unprecedented dataset in anticipation of the first tail season. In this paper we describe the first THEMIS substorm observations, captured during instrument commissioning on March 23, 2007. THEMIS measured the rapid expansion of the plasma sheet at a speed that is commensurate with the simultaneous expansion of the auroras on the ground. These are the first unequivocal observations of the rapid westward expansion process in space and on the ground. Aided by the remote sensing technique at energetic particle boundaries and combined with ancillary measurements and MHD simulations, they allow determination and mapping of space currents. These measurements show the power of the THEMIS instrumentation in the tail and the radiation belts. We also present THEMIS Flux Transfer Events (FTE) observations at the magnetopause, which demonstrate the importance of multi-point observations there and the quality of the THEMIS instrumentation in that region of space.
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5. |
- Hasegawa, H., et al.
(author)
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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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In: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 112:A11, s. A11206-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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8. |
- Sergeev, V. Y., et al.
(author)
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Studies of the impurity pellet ablation in the high-temperature plasma of magnetic confinement devices
- 2006
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In: Plasma physics reports (Print). - : Pleiades Publishing Ltd. - 1063-780X .- 1562-6938. ; 32:5, s. 363-377
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ablation of impurity pellets in tokamak and stellarator plasmas is investigated. Different mechanisms for shielding the heat fluxes from the surrounding plasma to the pellet surface are discussed. A model for impurity pellet ablation is developed that can account for both neutral and electrostatic shielding. It is shown that the experimental values of the impurity pellet ablation rate are well described by the neutral gas shielding model over a wide range of plasma temperatures and densities. Taking into account the electrostatic shielding leads to worse agreement between the predictions of the model and the experimental data; this result still remains unclear. Scaling laws are obtained that allow one to estimate the local ablation rate of impurity pellets made of various materials over a wide range of plasma parameters in the neutral gas shielding model.
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