Search Publications
Average properties of the magnetic reconnection ion diffusion region in the Earth's magnetotail: The 2001-2005 Cluster observations and comparison with simulations
Eastwood, J. P.; Phan, T. D.; Øieroset, M. +1 more
Magnetic reconnection plays a key role in the circulation of plasma through the Earth's magnetosphere. As such, the Earth's magnetotail is an excellent natural laboratory for the study of reconnection and in particular the diffusion region. To address important questions concerning observational occurrence rates and average properties, the Cluster…
A three-dimensional asymmetric magnetopause model
Wang, Y. L.; Zhang, X. X.; Lin, R. L. +2 more
A new three-dimensional asymmetric magnetopause model has been developed for corrected GSM coordinates and parameterized by the solar wind dynamic and magnetic pressures (Pd + Pm), the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz, and the dipole tilt angle. On the basis of the magnetopause crossings from Geotail, IMP 8, …
Conjugate ground and multisatellite observations of compression-related EMIC Pc1 waves and associated proton precipitation
Glassmeier, K. -H.; Matsui, H.; Fornacon, K. -H. +10 more
We present coordinated ground satellite observations of solar wind compression-related dayside electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves from 25 September 2005. On the ground, dayside structured EMIC wave activity was observed by the CARISMA and STEP magnetometer arrays for several hours during the period of maximum compression. The EMIC waves we…
Theory and observation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron triggered emissions in the magnetosphere
Dandouras, Iannis; Masson, Arnaud; Omura, Yoshiharu +5 more
We develop a nonlinear wave growth theory of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) triggered emissions observed in the inner magnetosphere. We first derive the basic wave equations from Maxwell's equations and the momentum equations for the electrons and ions. We then obtain equations that describe the nonlinear dynamics of resonant protons interac…
Features of separatrix regions in magnetic reconnection: Comparison of 2-D particle-in-cell simulations and Cluster observations
Wang, Shui; Huang, Can; Vaivads, Andris +4 more
In collisionless magnetic reconnection, the in-plane Hall currents are carried mainly by the magnetized electrons. The in-plane Hall currents are directed toward the X line along the magnetic field lines just inside the separatrices and away from the X line along the separatrices. Such a current system leads to the quadrupole out-of-plane magnetic…
Cusp as a source for oxygen in the plasma sheet during geomagnetic storms
Dandouras, I.; Klecker, B.; Kistler, L. M. +1 more
We have used the ion composition data from the CIS/CODIF instrument on Cluster to determine how the O+ population in the plasma sheet and the adjacent lobes changes during geomagnetic storms. The Cluster trajectory, which moves over the polar cap, into the lobe, and then into the plasma sheet on each orbit, allows us to track the change…
Structure of magnetic separators and separator reconnection
Parnell, C. E.; Haynes, A. L.; Galsgaard, K.
Magnetic separators are important locations of three-dimensional magnetic reconnection. They are field lines that lie along the edges of four flux domains and represent the intersection of two separatrix surfaces. Since the intersection of two surfaces produces an X-type structure, when viewed along the line of intersection, the global three-dimen…
“Island surfing” mechanism of electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection
Fujimoto, M.; Phan, T. D.; Shinohara, I. +1 more
One of the key unresolved problems in the study of space plasmas is to explain the production of energetic electrons as magnetic field lines “reconnect” and release energy in an explosive manner. Recent observations suggest possible roles played by small-scale magnetic islands in the reconnection region, but their precise roles and the exact mecha…
Geomagnetic signatures of current wedge produced by fast flows in a plasma sheet
Dunlop, Malcolm; Zhang, Tielong; Cao, Jin-Bin +10 more
This paper uses the plasma data from Cluster and TC-1 and geomagnetic data to study the geomagnetic signatures of the current wedge produced by fast-flow braking in the plasma sheet. The three fast flows studied here occurred in a very quiet background and were accompanied by no (or weak) particle injections, thus avoiding the influences from othe…
Statistical study of O+ transport from the cusp to the lobes with Cluster CODIF data
Dandouras, I.; Klecker, B.; Kistler, L. M. +3 more
Ionospheric origin O+ accelerated in the cusp/cleft region convects over the polar cap and flows along open field lines to the tail lobes. Some O+ in the lobes enters the near-Earth plasma sheet where it is then convected to the inner magnetosphere, while some O+ ends up in the distant tail where it is lost. In ord…