Search Publications
Electric current and magnetic field geometry in flapping magnetotail current sheets
Sauvaud, J. -A.; Balogh, A.; Zhang, T. L. +11 more
Using four-point magnetic field measurements by the Cluster spacecraft, we statistically analyze the magnetic field and electric current configurations during rapid crossings of the current sheet observed in July-October 2001 at geocentric distances of 19 RE. The database includes 78 crossings, specially selected to apply multi-point da…
Propagation of whistler-mode chorus to low altitudes: divergent ray trajectories and ground accessibility
Santolík, O.; Chum, J.
We investigate the ray trajectories of nonductedly propagating lower-band chorus waves with respect to their initial angle θ0, between the wave vector and ambient magnetic field. Although we consider a wide range of initial angles θ0, in order to be consistent with recent satellite observations, we pay special attention to th…
Optimal reconstruction of magnetopause structures from Cluster data
Klecker, B.; Hasegawa, H.; Dunlop, M. W. +3 more
The Grad-Shafranov (GS) reconstruction technique, a single-spacecraft based data analysis method for recovering approximately two-dimensional (2-D) magnetohydrostatic plasma/field structures in space, is improved to become a multi-spacecraft technique that produces a single field map by ingesting data from all four Cluster spacecraft into the calc…
First current density measurements in the ring current region using simultaneous multi-spacecraft CLUSTER-FGM data
Balogh, A.; Dandouras, I.; Lucek, E. +7 more
The inner magnetosphere's current mapping is one of the key elements for current loop closure inside the entire magnetosphere. A method for directly computing the current is the multi-spacecraft curlometer technique, which is based on the application of Maxwell-Ampère's law. This requires the use of four-point magnetic field high resolution measur…
Double Star/Cluster observation of neutral sheet oscillations on 5 August 2004
Balogh, A.; Zhang, T. L.; Nakamura, R. +8 more
Previous Cluster observations have shown that the flapping motions of the Earth's magnetotail are of internal origin and that kink-like waves are emitted from the central part of the tail and propagate toward the tail flanks. The newly launched Double Star Program (DSP) TC-1 satellite allows us to investigate neutral sheet at 10-13 Re in the tail.…
Localized fast flow disturbance observed in the plasma sheet and in the ionosphere
Balogh, A.; Lester, M.; André, M. +8 more
An isolated plasma sheet flow burst took place at 22:02 UT, 1 September 2002, when the Cluster footpoint was located within the area covered by the Magnetometers-Ionospheric Radars-All-sky Cameras Large Experiment (MIRACLE). The event was associated with a clear but weak ionospheric disturbance and took place during a steady southward IMF interval…
Cluster multispacecraft observations at the high-latitude duskside magnetopause: implications for continuous and component magnetic reconnection
Lundin, R.; Balogh, A.; André, M. +13 more
We report multispacecraft Cluster observations of magnetic reconnection at the high-latitude magnetopause/magnetospheric boundary layer (MP/BL) under mainly northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The event we study is on 3 December 2001 when the Cluster spacecraft were skimming the high-latitude duskside MP/BL during a period of…
Coordinated Cluster/Double Star observations of dayside reconnection signatures
Escoubet, C. P.; Pitout, F.; Zong, Q. -G. +18 more
The recent launch of the equatorial spacecraft of the Double Star mission, TC-1, has provided an unprecedented opportunity to monitor the southern hemisphere dayside magnetopause boundary layer in conjunction with northern hemisphere observations by the quartet of Cluster spacecraft. We present first results of one such situation where, on 6 April…
Characteristics of the near-tail dawn magnetopause and boundary layer
Klecker, B.; Vaivads, A.; Hasegawa, H. +6 more
The paper discusses properties of the near-tail dawnside and boundary layer, as obtained from Cluster plasma and magnetic field measurements during a single skimming orbit on 4 and 5 July 2001 that included 24 well-defined crossings by all four spacecraft. As a result of variations of the interplanetary magnetic field, the magnetic shear across th…
Dawn-dusk asymmetries and sub-Alfvénic flow in the high and low latitude magnetosheath
Dandouras, I.; Fazakerley, A. N.; Lucek, E. A. +4 more
We present the results of a statistical survey of the magnetosheath using four years of Cluster orbital coverage. Moments of the plasma distribution obtained from the electron and ion instruments together with magnetic field data are used to characterise the flow and density in the magnetosheath. We note two important differences between our surve…