Search Publications
Cluster observations of the dusk flank magnetopause near the sash: Ion dynamics and flow-through reconnection
Dunlop, Malcolm; Farrugia, Charles J.; Rème, Henri +5 more
Compared to the dayside, dynamics on the flanks of the magnetopause are poorly understood. To help bridge this knowledge gap we analyzed Cluster plasma and field measurements acquired during a 90-min period on 20 November 2003 when Cluster crossed the magnetopause four times in the vicinity of the sash. MHD simulations provide a context for Cluste…
Modeling of electron fluxes in the Enceladus plume
Coates, A. J.; Jones, G. H.; Cravens, T. E. +2 more
Observations by instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft of Saturn's icy satellite Enceladus have shown that a plume containing water vapor and ice grains is present in the southern hemisphere. Energy distributions of electrons in this plume were measured by the electron sensor part of the Cassini plasma spectrometer (CAPS - ELS). A significant …
The detection of energetic electrons with the Cassini Langmuir probe at Saturn
Schippers, P.; Gurnett, D. A.; Krupp, N. +10 more
The Cassini Langmuir probe, part of the Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument, has provided a wealth of information about the cold and dense plasma in the Saturnian system. The analysis of the ion side current (current for negative potentials) measured by the probe from 2005 to 2008 reveals also a strong sensitivity to energetic electron…
Study of kinetic Alfvén wave and whistler wave spectra and their implication in solar wind plasma
Sharma, R. P.; Dwivedi, Navin Kumar; Batra, Karuna
This work presents the numerical simulation of the nonlinear evolution of kinetic Alfvén wave (KAW), in a parametric regime consistent with the solar wind plasmas. The nonlinear dynamical equation of KAW satisfies the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation when incident pump KAW has a small perturbation. Numerical simulation has been done to solv…
Simultaneous ground-satellite observations of meso-scale auroral arc undulations
Lester, M.; Milan, S. E.; Sato, N. +4 more
We present simultaneous ground-based and in situ measurements of a train of meso-scale (about 100-300 km) auroral arc undulations, occurring in the postmidnight sector (∼1 MLT) between 0040 UT and 0054 UT on September 21, 2009. The undulations appeared at the auroral poleward boundary, and then moved eastward with a speed of 0.9-2.2 km s-1
Properties of the magnetospheric backward wave oscillator inferred from CLUSTER measurements of VLF chorus elements
Gurnett, D.; MacúšOvá, E.; SantolíK, O. +6 more
According to the backward wave oscillator (BWO) model, a sharp gradient (or step-like deformation) on the electron distribution function is the most important factor in chorus generation, but such a feature is very difficult to observe directly. The properties of the step in the BWO model determine the dimensionless parameterqquantifying the exces…
Different Bz response regions in the nightside magnetosphere after the arrival of an interplanetary shock: Multipoint observations compared with MHD simulations
Wang, C.; Wang, Y.; Sun, T. R.
We present different magnetic field changes in the nightside magnetosphere in response to the interplanetary (IP) shock on 17 December 2007, using multiple spacecraft observations and global MHD simulations. The coexistence of two distinct Bz response regions in the nightside magnetosphere in a single event has been observationally iden…
Upstream-generated Pc3 ULF wave signatures observed near the Earth's cusp
Yeoman, T. K.; Wright, D. M.; Kim, H. +3 more
Pc3 pulsations (frequency ∼20-100 mHz) which originate in the ion foreshock upstream of the Earth's bow shock due to the interaction between reflected ions and the solar wind are frequently observed in ground-based pulsation magnetometer data. Previous studies have noted increased Pc3 wave power in the vicinity of the dayside cusp and inferred tha…
Cassini UVIS observations of Titan nightglow spectra
West, Robert A.; Esposito, Larry W.; Gustin, Jacques +6 more
In this paper we present the first nightside EUV and FUV airglow limb spectra of Titan showing molecular emissions. The Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observed photon emissions of Titan's day and night limb-airglow and disk-airglow on multiple occasions, including during an eclipse observation. The 71 airglow observations analyzed…
A study of the changes of the near-Earth plasma sheet and lobe driven by multiple substorms: Comparison with a full particle simulation of reconnection
Sauvaud, J. -A.; Balogh, A.; Kistler, L. M. +9 more
Comparisons of multispacecraft observations and full-particle simulations are used to understand magnetotail changes during substorms and the related cross-tail current disruptions/reductions. We first show that the electric field accompanying current disruptions can be measured in the tail lobe from the drift velocity of oxygen beams. A stormy pe…