Search Publications
3D Reconnection Geometries With Magnetic Nulls: Multispacecraft Observations and Reconstructions
He, Jiansen; Guo, Ruilong; Pu, Zuyin +2 more
Magnetic reconnection is universal in various plasma environments like the solar atmosphere, planetary magnetosphere, and laboratory to trigger explosive phenomena. Its nature and magnetic structure in two dimensions (2D) have been abundantly analyzed. The three-dimensional (3D) characteristics of reconnection are different from 2D, and the myster…
Properties and Acceleration Mechanisms of Electrons Up To 200 keV Associated With a Flux Rope Pair and Reconnection X-Lines Around It in Earth's Plasma Sheet
Nakamura, Rumi; Hu, Qiang; Gershman, Daniel J. +15 more
The properties and acceleration mechanisms of electrons (<200 keV) associated with a pair of tailward traveling flux ropes and accompanied reconnection X-lines in Earth's plasma sheet are investigated with MMS measurements. Energetic electrons are enhanced on both boundaries and core of the flux ropes. The power-law spectra of energetic electro…
Electron Diffusion by Magnetosonic Waves in the Earth's Radiation Belts
Meredith, Nigel P.; Wong, Jin-Mann; Horne, Richard B. +2 more
We conduct a global survey of magnetosonic waves and compute the associated bounce- and drift-averaged diffusion coefficients, taking into account colocated measurements of fpe/fce, to assess the role of magnetosonic waves in radiation belt dynamics. The average magnetosonic wave intensities increase with increasing geomagnet…
On the Global Kinematic Positioning Variations During the September 2017 Solar Flare Events
Nie, Wenfeng; Rovira-Garcia, Adria; Wang, Yong +3 more
Several X-class solar flares (SFs) with different intensities and locations on the solar disk occurred in September 2017. Among them, the X9.3 SF on 6 September 2017 was the most intensive SF in the 24th solar cycle. In this study, we investigated and compared the ionospheric response to the different X-class SFs and their impacts on the Global Po…
Comparing and Contrasting the Properties of the Inner Heliosphere for the Three Most Recent Solar Minima
Downs, Cooper; Riley, Pete; Linker, Jon A. +2 more
The previous three solar cycles have ended in progressively more quiescent conditions, suggesting a continual slide into an ever deeper minimum state. Although the Sun's magnetic field is undoubtedly responsible for this quiescence, it is not clear how changes in its structure and strength modulate the properties of the solar wind. In this study, …
Influence of Titan's Variable Electromagnetic Environment on the Global Distribution of Energetic Neutral Atoms
Simon, Sven; Tippens, Tyler; Liuzzo, Lucas
We combine the electromagnetic fields from a hybrid plasma model with a particle tracing tool to study the spatial distribution of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) emitted from Titan's atmosphere when the moon is exposed to different magnetospheric upstream regimes. These ENAs are generated when energetic magnetospheric ions undergo charge exchange …
FARWEST: Efficient Computation of Wave-Particle Interactions for a Dynamic Description of the Electron Radiation Belt Diffusion
Darrouzet, Fabien; Santolik, Ondrej; Pierrard, Viviane +5 more
In this paper, we present a new method to compute rapidly, wave particle interaction induced pitch angle and momentum diffusion coefficients. Those terms are normally obtained by the numerical solving of equations based on the quasi-linear theory. However, this bulk resolution leads to a high computational cost, preventing the integration of plasm…
Proton Temperature Anisotropies in the Venus Plasma Environment During Solar Minimum and Maximum
Zhang, Tielong; Stenberg Wieser, Gabriella; Futaana, Yoshifumi +4 more
The proton population in Venus' plasma environment is characterized during periods of solar minimum and maximum using data from a particle mass-energy spectrometer. Such characterizations at different levels of solar activity provides physical insight into solar-cycle-dependent plasma phenomena around the planet, for example mirror modes in the ma…
Massive Multi-Mission Statistical Study and Analytical Modeling of the Earth's Magnetopause: 4. On the Near-Cusp Magnetopause Indentation
Lavraud, B.; Jeandet, A.; Aunai, N. +3 more
The shape and location of the magnetopause current sheet in the near-cusp region is still a debated question. Over time, several observations led to contradictory conclusions regarding the presence of an indentation of the magnetopause in that region. As a result several empirical models consider the surface is indented in that region, while some …
Constraining Europa's Subsolar Atmosphere With a Joint Analysis of HST Spectral Images and Galileo Magnetic Field Data
Saur, J.; Cervantes, S.
We constrain Europa's tenuous atmosphere on the subsolar hemisphere by combining two sets of observations: oxygen emissions at 1,304 and 1,356 Å from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) spectral images and Galileo magnetic field measurements from its closest encounter, the E12 flyby. We describe Europa's atmosphere with three neutral gas species: global …