Search Publications
Kinetic Alfvén wave explanation of the Hall fields in magnetic reconnection
Lavraud, Benoit; Wang, Chi; Dai, Lei +4 more
Magnetic reconnection is initiated in a small diffusion region but can drive global-scale dynamics in Earth's magnetosphere, solar flares, and astrophysical systems. Understanding the processes at work in the diffusion region remains a main challenge in space plasma physics. Recent in situ observations from Magnetospheric Multiscale and Time Histo…
Titan's Topography and Shape at the End of the Cassini Mission
Hayes, A. G.; Iess, L.; Stiles, B. W. +6 more
With the conclusion of the Cassini mission, we present an updated topographic map of Titan, including all the available altimetry, SARtopo, and stereophotogrammetry topographic data sets available from the mission. We use radial basis functions to interpolate the sparse data set, which covers only ∼9% of Titan's global area. The most notable updat…
Energy conversion at dipolarization fronts
André, M.; Vaivads, A.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V. +2 more
We use multispacecraft observations by Cluster in the Earth's magnetotail and 3-D particle-in-cell simulations to investigate conversion of electromagnetic energy at the front of a fast plasma jet. We find that the major energy conversion is happening in the Earth (laboratory) frame, where the electromagnetic energy is being transferred from the e…
Topographic Constraints on the Evolution and Connectivity of Titan's Lacustrine Basins
Lorenz, R. D.; Hayes, A. G.; Kirk, R. L. +11 more
The topography provided by altimetry, synthetic aperture radar-topography, and stereo radargrammetry has opened new doors for Titan research by allowing for quantitative analysis of morphologic form. Using altimetry measurements, we show that Titan's Maria are consistent with an equipotential surface but that several filled lakes are found to be h…
Rapid Pitch Angle Evolution of Suprathermal Electrons Behind Dipolarization Fronts
Daly, P. W.; Cao, J. B.; Xu, Y. +4 more
The pitch angle distribution (PAD) of suprathermal electrons can have both spatial and temporal evolution in the magnetotail and theoretically can be an indication of electron energization/cooling processes there. So far, the spatial evolution of PAD has been well studied, leaving the temporal evolution as an open question. To reveal the temporal …
Global observations of magnetospheric high-m poloidal waves during the 22 June 2015 magnetic storm
Russell, C. T.; Anderson, B. J.; Nakamura, R. +12 more
We report global observations of high-m poloidal waves during the recovery phase of the 22 June 2015 magnetic storm from a constellation of widely spaced satellites of five missions including Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS), Van Allen Probes, Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorm (THEMIS), Cluster, and Geostationary Op…
Global ULF waves generated by a hot flow anomaly
Zhao, L. L.; Zhang, H.; Zong, Q. G.
Hot flow anomalies (HFAs), which are frequently observed near Earth's bow shock, are phenomena resulting from the interaction between interplanetary discontinuities and Earth's bow shock. Such transient phenomena upstream the bow shock can cause significant deformation of the bow shock and the magnetosphere, generating traveling convection vortice…
Transient brightening of Jupiter's aurora observed by the Hisaki satellite and Hubble Space Telescope during approach phase of the Juno spacecraft
Fujimoto, M.; Yoshioka, K.; Gray, R. L. +11 more
In early 2014, continuous monitoring with the Hisaki satellite discovered transient auroral emission at Jupiter during a period when the solar wind was relatively quiet for a few days. Simultaneous imaging made by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) suggested that the transient aurora is associated with a global magnetospheric disturbance that spans …
Rosetta measurements of lower hybrid frequency range electric field oscillations in the plasma environment of comet 67P
Nilsson, H.; André, M.; Karlsson, T. +6 more
Electric field measurements from cometary environments are very rare but can provide important information on how plasma waves help fashion the plasma environment. The long dwelling time of the Rosetta spacecraft close to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko promises to improve this state. We here present the first electric field measurements from 67P,…
Quasilinear analysis of saturation properties of broadband whistler mode waves
Chen, L.; Liu, X.; Wang, S. +2 more
Saturation properties of parallel propagating broadband whistler mode waves are investigated using quasilinear theory. By assuming that the electron distribution stays bi-Maxwellian, we combine the previously obtained energy equation of quasilinear theory with wave equation to self-consistently model the excitation of broadband whistler waves. The…