Search Publications
CLUSTER-STAFF search coil magnetometer calibration - comparisons with FGM
de Conchy, Y.; Bouzid, V.; Piberne, R. +6 more
The main part of the Cluster Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Field Fluctuations (STAFF) experiment consists of triaxial search coils allowing the measurements of the three magnetic components of the waves from 0.1 Hz up to 4 kHz. Two sets of data are produced, one by a module to filter and transmit the corresponding waveform up to either 10 or 180 Hz …
In-flight calibration of double-probe electric field measurements on Cluster
André, M.; Eriksson, A. I.; Khotyaintsev, Y. V. +2 more
Double-probe electric field instrument with long wire booms is one of the most popular techniques for in situ measurement of electric fields in plasmas on spinning spacecraft platforms, which have been employed on a large number of space missions. Here we present an overview of the calibration procedure used for the Electric Field and Wave (EFW) i…
Validation of the k-filtering technique for a signal composed of random-phase plane waves and non-random coherent structures
Li, X.; Roberts, O. W.; Jeska, L.
Recent observations of astrophysical magnetic fields have shown the presence of fluctuations being wave-like (propagating in the plasma frame) and those described as being structure-like (advected by the plasma bulk velocity). Typically with single-spacecraft missions it is impossible to differentiate between these two fluctuations, due to the inh…
Interinstrument calibration using magnetic field data from the flux-gate magnetometer (FGM) and electron drift instrument (EDI) onboard Cluster
Glassmeier, K. -H.; Steller, M.; Nakamura, R. +10 more
We compare the magnetic field data obtained from the flux-gate magnetometer (FGM) and the magnetic field data deduced from the gyration time of electrons measured by the electron drift instrument (EDI) onboard Cluster to determine the spin-axis offset of the FGM measurements. Data are used from orbits with their apogees in the magnetotail, when th…
An initial investigation of the long-term trends in the fluxgate magnetometer (FGM) calibration parameters on the four Cluster spacecraft
Carr, C. M.; Brown, P.; Oddy, T. M. +3 more
Over the course of more than 10 years in operation, the calibration parameters of the outboard fluxgate magnetometer (FGM) sensors on the four Cluster spacecraft are shown to be remarkably stable. The parameters are refined on the ground during the rigorous FGM calibration process performed for the Cluster Active Archive (CAA). Fluctuations in som…
Background subtraction for the Cluster/CODIF plasma ion mass spectrometer
Liu, Y.; Kistler, L. M.; Mouikis, C. G. +1 more
The CODIF instrument on the Cluster spacecraft is a time-of-flight (TOF) ion mass spectrometer. Although TOF spectrometers are relatively immune to background contamination due to the inherent double coincidence requirement, high background rates can still result in false coincidences. Along the Cluster orbit, false coincidences are commonly obser…
In-flight calibration of the Hot Ion Analyser on board Cluster
Dandouras, I.; Facskó, G.; Barthe, A. +3 more
The Hot Ion Analyser (HIA), part of the Cluster Ion Spectrometry experiment, has the objective to measure the three-dimensional velocity distributions of ions. Due to a variety of factors (exposure to radiation, detector fatigue and aging, changes in the operating parameters, etc.), the particles' detection efficiency changes over time, prompting …
In-flight calibration of the Cluster PEACE sensors
Wilson, R. J.; Fazakerley, A. N.; Watson, G. +6 more
The Plasma Electron and Current Experiment (PEACE) instruments operate on all four of the Cluster spacecraft and measure the 3-D velocity distribution of electrons in the energy range from 0.59 eV to 26.4 keV during each spacecraft spin. Pitch angle distributions and moments of the velocity distribution are also produced. As the mission has progre…
Interpretation of Cluster WBD frequency conversion mode data
Pickett, J. S.; Kirchner, D. L.; Christopher, I. W.
The Cluster wide-band data (WBD) plasma wave receiver mounted on each of the four Cluster spacecraft obtains high time resolution waveform data in the frequency range of ~70 Hz to 577 kHz. In order to make measurements above 77 kHz, it uses frequency conversion to sample the higher frequency waves at one of three different conversion frequencies (…