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Scales in a thinning plasma sheet

Petrukovich, A. A.; Balogh, A.; Nakamura, R. +3 more

With Cluster observations in the magnetotail, we study the dynamics of plasma sheet thinning and stretching in a typical growth phase event of September 12, 2001. The thinning and stretching proceed in parallel, with transient variations. The pre-onset value is B_z∼1.5 nT, J∼8 nA/m². The current density increase is not accompa…

Multipoint observations of plasma distributions around an X line

Fazakerley, A. N.; Owen, C. J.; Nakamura, R. +9 more

Using electron and magnetic field data obtained from the Cluster satellites, we identify the spatial distribution of highly accelerated electron distributions up to 10 keV. They are generally isotropic and form flat-top distributions in the phase space. These distributions are observed in the vicinity of the X line associated with the quadrupole-l…

The Cross-Scale Mission

Vaivads, A.; Louarn, P.; Nakamura, R. +7 more

Collisionless space plasmas exhibit complex behavior on many scales. Fortunately, one can identify a small number of processes and phenomena, essentially shocks, reconnection and turbulence that play a predominant role in the dynamics of a plasma. These processes act to transfer energy between locations, scales and modes, a transfer characterized …