Whistler-mode waves inside flux pileup region : Structured or unstructured?

• During reconnection, a flux pileup region (FPR) is formed behind a dipolarization front in an outflow jet. Inside the FPR, the magnetic field magnitude and Bz component increase and the whistler-mode waves are observed frequently. As the FPR convects toward the Earth during substorms, it is obstructed by the dipolar geomagnetic field to form a near-Earth FPR. Unlike the structureless emissions inside the tail FPR, we find that the whistler-mode waves inside the near-Earth FPR can exhibit a discrete structure similar to chorus. Both upper band and lower band chorus are observed, with the upper band having a larger propagation angle (and smaller wave amplitude) than the lower band. Most chorus elements we observed are rising-tone type, but some are falling-tone type. We notice that the rising-tone chorus can evolve into falling-tone chorus within <3s. One of the factors that may explain why the waves are unstructured inside the tail FPR but become discrete inside the near-Earth FPR is the spatial inhomogeneity of magnetic field: we find that such inhomogeneity is small inside the near-Earth FPR but large inside the tail FPR.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

flux pileup region

dipolarization front

whistler

chorus

structure

magnetic field inhomogeneity

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)