Search Publications
Observations of concentrated generator regions in the nightside magnetosphere by Cluster/FAST conjunctions
André, M.; Hamrin, M.; Marghitu, O. +7 more
Here and in the companion paper, Marghitu et al. (2006), we investigate plausible auroral generator regions in the nightside auroral magnetosphere. In this article we use magnetically conjugate data from the Cluster and the FAST satellites during a 3.5-h long event from 19-20 September 2001. Cluster is in the Southern Hemisphere close to apogee, w…
Experimental investigation of auroral generator regions with conjugate Cluster and FAST data
Dandouras, I.; André, M.; Hamrin, M. +7 more
Here and in the companion paper, Hamrin et al. (2006), we present experimental evidence for the crossing of auroral generator regions, based on conjugate Cluster and FAST data. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation that concentrates on the evaluation of the power density, E·J, in auroral generator regions, by using in-situ measurements…
On the profile of intense high-altitude auroral electric fields at magnetospheric boundaries
Nilsson, H.; Karlsson, T.; Marchaudon, A. +5 more
The profile of intense high-altitude electric fields on auroral field lines has been studied using Cluster data. A total of 41 events with mapped electric field magnitudes in the range between 0.5-1 V/m were examined, 27 of which were co-located with a plasma boundary, defined by gradients in particle flux, plasma density and plasma temperature. M…
Energy-dispersed ions in the plasma sheet boundary layer and associated phenomena: Ion heating, electron acceleration, Alfvén waves, broadband waves, perpendicular electric field spikes, and auroral emissions
Dandouras, I.; Lucek, E.; Fazakerley, A. N. +8 more
Recent Cluster studies reported properties of multiple energy-dispersed ion structures in the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) that showed substructure with several well separated ion beamlets, covering energies from 3 keV up to 100 keV (Keiling et al., 2004a, b). Here we report observations from two PSBL crossings, which show a number of identi…
Cluster observation of plasma flow reversal in the magnetotail during a substorm
Livi, S.; Kistler, L. M.; Dunlop, M. W. +7 more
We investigate in detail a reversal of plasma flow from tailward to earthward detected by Cluster at the downstream distance of ~19 RE in the midnight sector of the magnetotail on 22 August 2001. This flow reversal was accompanied by a sign reversal of the Bz component and occurred during the late substorm expansion phase as …
Rotation of the magnetic field in Earth's magnetosheath by bulk magnetosheath plasma flow
Lucek, E. A.; Schwartz, S. J.; Longmore, M.
Orientations of the observed magnetic field in Earth's dayside magnetosheath are compared with the predicted field line-draping pattern from the Kobel and Flückiger static magnetic field model. A rotation of the overall magnetosheath draping pattern with respect to the model prediction is observed. For an earthward Parker spiral, the sense of the …
Study of whistler mode instability in Saturn's magnetosphere
Singhal, R. P.; Tripathi, A. K.
A dispersion relation for parallel propagating whistler mode waves has been applied to the magnetosphere of Saturn and comparisons have been made with the observations made by Voyager and Cassini. The effect of hot (suprathermal) electron-density, temperature, temperature anisotropy, and the spectral index parameter, κ, on the temporal growth rate…
From the Sun to the Earth: impact of the 27-28 May 2003 solar events on the magnetosphere, ionosphere and thermosphere
Auchère, F.; Bocchialini, K.; Cornilleau-Wehrlin, N. +10 more
During the last week of May 2003, the solar active region AR 10365 produced a large number of flares, several of which were accompanied by Coronal Mass Ejections (CME). Specifically on 27 and 28 May three halo CMEs were observed which had a significant impact on geospace. On 29 May, upon their arrival at the L1 point, in front of the Earth's magne…
Alfvén waves in the near-PSBL lobe: Cluster observations
Balogh, A.; Zhang, T. L.; Klecker, B. +14 more
Electromagnetic low-frequency waves in the magnetotail lobe close to the PSBL (Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer) are studied using the Cluster spacecraft. The lobe waves show Alfvénic properties and transport their wave energy (Poynting flux) on average toward the Earth along magnetic field lines. Most of the wave events are rich with oxygen (O+
Cluster observations in the magnetosheath - Part 2: Intensity of the turbulence at electron scales
Maksimovic, M.; Trávníček, P.; Cornilleau-Wehrlin, N. +5 more
The Cluster STAFF Spectral Analyser measures the magnetic and electric power spectral densities (PSD) δB2 and δE2 in the magnetosheath between 8 Hz and 4 kHz, i.e. between about the lower hybrid frequency and 10 times the proton plasma frequency. We study about 23 h of data on four different days. We do not consider the whist…