Search Publications
A sunward propagating fast wave in the magnetosheath observed after the passage of an interplanetary shock
Pallocchia, G.
The interaction of an interplanetary (IP) shock with the terrestrial magnetosphere causes some noticeable effects on the global scale structure of the magnetosphere itself. One of these effects is given by an earthward motion of the bow shock followed, some minutes later, by a sunward displacement. As demonstrated by past observational studies, in…
EMIC waves observed by Cluster near the plasmapause
Liu, Y. H.; Fraser, B. J.; Menk, F. W.
analyze a long-duration electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave event seen in the inner magnetosphere in order to understand the propagation characteristics of these waves in the vicinity of the plasmapause. The study takes advantage of the south to north orbit of the four-satellite Cluster constellation as it passed through perigee at L ~ 4.2 a…
Current-voltage relation for the Saturnian system
Delamere, P. A.; Ray, L. C.; Galand, M. +1 more
Saturn's magnetosphere is populated by plasma created from neutrals ejected by the moon Enceladus. These neutrals are ionized and picked up by the planetary magnetic field requiring large amounts of angular momentum to be transferred from Saturn's upper atmosphere to the magnetospheric plasma. The resulting upward currents that supply this angular…
Study of small-scale plasmoid structures in the magnetotail using Cluster observations and Hall MHD simulations
Feng, Xueshang; Ye, Yudong; Liu, Chaoxu +1 more
The existence of small-scale plasmoids associated with the Hall effect has been often observed in the magnetotail. They are considered as the signature of multiple X-line collisionless reconnection. To study these plasmoids structures, we present some Cluster observations and Hall MHD simulations of their features. In this study, the observation s…
Spatial variation of energy conversion at the Earth's magnetopause: Statistics from Cluster observations
Dandouras, I.; Lucek, E.; Palmroth, M. +2 more
We investigate magnetopause energy conversion in a large statistical data set utilizing Cluster spacecraft observations. We have compiled a database of about 4000 magnetopause crossings from Cluster spacecraft 1 measurements during years 2001-2008. We have estimated the local energy conversion across the magnetopause for these crossings using Gene…
Photoelectrons in the Enceladus plume
Schippers, P.; Coates, A. J.; Thomsen, M. F. +5 more
The plume of Enceladus is a remarkable plasma environment containing several charged particle species. These include cold magnetospheric electrons, negative and positive water clusters, charged nanograins, and "magnetospheric photoelectrons" produced from ionization of neutrals throughout the magnetosphere near Enceladus. Here we discuss observati…
Reduced proton and alpha particle precipitations at Mars during solar wind pressure pulses: Mars Express results
Barabash, S.; Nilsson, H.; Stenberg, G. +2 more
We performed a statistical study of downward moving protons and alpha particles of ~keV energy (assumed to be of solar wind origin) inside the Martian induced magnetosphere from July 2006 to July 2010. Ion and electron data are from the Analyzer of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms (ASPERA-3) package on board Mars Express. We investigated the solar…
The influence of the secondary electrons induced by energetic electrons impacting the Cassini Langmuir probe at Saturn
Gurnett, D. A.; Lewis, G. R.; Coates, A. J. +7 more
The Cassini Langmuir Probe (LP) onboard the Radio and Plasma Wave Science experiment has provided much information about the Saturnian cold plasma environment since the Saturn Orbit Insertion in 2004. A recent analysis revealed that the LP is also sensitive to the energetic electrons (250-450 eV) for negative potentials. These electrons impact the…
Antisunward structure of thin current sheets in the Earth's magnetotail: Implications of quasi-adiabatic theory
Malova, H. V.; Popov, V. Yu.; Delcourt, D. C. +2 more
developed a self-consistent kinetic model of thin current sheets (TCS), taking into account the inhomogeneity of TCS parameters in the antisunward direction. We show that the charged particle dynamics depending on the magnetic field distribution in the downtail direction completely determines the magnetotail equilibrium structure. We demonstrate t…
Correlations between variations in solar EUV and soft X-ray irradiance and photoelectron energy spectra observed on Mars and Earth
Brain, D. A.; Peterson, W. K.; Mitchell, D. L. +2 more
extreme ultraviolet (EUV; 10-120 nm) and soft X-ray (XUV; 0-10 nm) radiation are major heat sources for the Mars thermosphere as well as the primary source of ionization that creates the ionosphere. In investigations of Mars thermospheric chemistry and dynamics, solar irradiance models are used to account for variations in this radiation. Because …