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On the origin of th...
On the origin of the crescent-shaped distributions observed by MMS at the magnetopause
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- Lapenta, G. (author)
- Univ Leuven, Dept Wiskunde, Leuven, Belgium
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- Berchem, J. (author)
- Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Phys & Astron, Los Angeles, CA USA
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- Zhou, M. (author)
- Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Phys & Astron, Los Angeles, CA USA
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- Walker, R. J. (author)
- Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Earth Planetary & Space Sci, Los Angeles, CA USA
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- El-Alaoui, M. (author)
- Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Phys & Astron, Los Angeles, CA USA
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- Goldstein, M. L. (author)
- Space Sci Inst, Boulder, CO USA
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- Paterson, W. R. (author)
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD USA
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- Giles, B. L. (author)
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD USA
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- Pollock, C. J. (author)
- NASA, Goddard Space Flight Ctr, Greenbelt, MD USA
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- Russell, C. T. (author)
- Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Earth Planetary & Space Sci, Los Angeles, CA USA
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- Strangeway, R. J. (author)
- Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Earth Planetary & Space Sci, Los Angeles, CA USA
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- Ergun, R. E. (author)
- Univ Colorado, LASP, Boulder, CO 80309 USA
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- Khotyaintsev, Yuri V. (author)
- Uppsala universitet,Institutet för rymdfysik, Uppsalaavdelningen
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- Torbert, R. B. (author)
- Univ New Hampshire, Space Phys & Astron, Durham, NH 03824 USA
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- Burch, J. L. (author)
- Southwest Res Inst, San Antonio, TX USA
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(creator_code:org_t)
- 2017
- 2017
- English.
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 122:2, s. 2024-2039
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https://urn.kb.se/re...
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https://doi.org/10.1...
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Abstract
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- MMS observations recently confirmed that crescent-shaped electron velocity distributions in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field occur in the electron diffusion region near reconnection sites at Earth's magnetopause. In this paper, we reexamine the origin of the crescent-shaped distributions in the light of our new finding that ions and electrons are drifting in opposite directions when displayed in magnetopause boundary-normal coordinates. Therefore, E x B drifts cannot cause the crescent shapes. We performed a high-resolution multiscale simulation capturing subelectron skin-depth scales. The results suggest that the crescent-shaped distributions are caused by meandering orbits without necessarily requiring any additional processes found at the magnetopause such as the highly asymmetric magnetopause ambipolar electric field. We use an adiabatic Hamiltonian model of particle motion to confirm that conservation of canonical momentum in the presence of magnetic field gradients causes the formation of crescent shapes without invoking asymmetries or the presence of an E x B drift. An important consequence of this finding is that we expect crescent-shaped distributions also to be observed in the magnetotail, a prediction that MMS will soon be able to test.
Subject headings
- NATURVETENSKAP -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geofysik (hsv//swe)
- NATURAL SCIENCES -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geophysics (hsv//eng)
- NATURVETENSKAP -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Multidisciplinär geovetenskap (hsv//swe)
- NATURAL SCIENCES -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geosciences, Multidisciplinary (hsv//eng)
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- By the author/editor
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Lapenta, G.
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Berchem, J.
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Zhou, M.
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Walker, R. J.
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El-Alaoui, M.
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Goldstein, M. L.
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show more...
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Paterson, W. R.
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Giles, B. L.
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Pollock, C. J.
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Russell, C. T.
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Strangeway, R. J ...
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Ergun, R. E.
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Khotyaintsev, Yu ...
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Torbert, R. B.
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Burch, J. L.
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- About the subject
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- NATURAL SCIENCES
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NATURAL SCIENCES
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and Earth and Relate ...
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and Geophysics
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- NATURAL SCIENCES
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NATURAL SCIENCES
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and Earth and Relate ...
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and Geosciences Mult ...
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Journal of Geoph ...
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Uppsala University