Search Publications
Magnetotail magnetic flux monitoring based on simultaneous solar wind and magnetotail observations
Gordeev, E. I.; Sergeev, V. A.; Milan, S. E. +3 more
The magnetotail magnetic flux (MTF) is an important global variable to describe the magnetospheric state and dynamics. Existing methods of MTF estimation on the basis of the polar cap area, inferred from observations of global auroras and field-aligned currents, do not allow benchmarking due to the absence of a gauge for comparison; besides, they …
Identifying the magnetotail lobes with Cluster magnetometer data
Jackman, C. M.; Forsyth, C.; Rae, I. J. +2 more
We describe a novel method for identifying times when a spacecraft is in Earth's magnetotail lobes solely using magnetometer data. We propose that lobe intervals can be well identified as times when the magnetic field is strong and relatively invariant, defined using thresholds in the magnitude of BX and the standard deviation σ of the …
Penetration of magnetosheath plasma into dayside magnetosphere: 1. Density, velocity, and rotation
Goldstein, Melvyn L.; Pollock, Craig; Lyatsky, Wladislaw +2 more
In this study, we examine a large number of plasma structures (filaments), observed with the Cluster spacecraft during 2 years (2007-2008) in the dayside magnetosphere but consisting of magnetosheath plasma. To reduce the effects observed in the cusp regions and on magnetosphere flanks, we consider these events predominantly inside the narrow cone…
Electron densities in the ionosphere of Mars: A comparison of MARSIS and radio occultation measurements
Withers, Paul; Vogt, Marissa F.; Fallows, Kathryn +4 more
Radio occultation electron densities measurements from the Mariner 9 and Viking spacecraft, which orbited Mars in the 1970s, have recently become available in a digital format. These data are highly complementary to the radio occultation electron density profiles from Mars Global Surveyor, which were restricted in solar zenith angle and altitude. …
A family for miniature, easily reconfigurable particle sensors for space plasma measurements
Barabash, S.; Wieser, M.
Over the last 15 years the Swedish Institute of Space Physics developed a line of miniaturized ion mass analyzers for space plasma studies with masses of 400-600 g and highly compact and dense design to minimize the volume. The sensors cover an energy range from few eV up to 15 keV and reach an angular coverage up to hemispherical and mass resolut…
Mass loading at the magnetopause through the plasmaspheric plume
Tu, Jiannan; Wang, Yan; Song, Paul
An investigation of the transport of the plasmaspheric plasma to the dayside magnetopause under disturbed geomagnetic conditions associated with plasmaspheric plumes is conducted by numerical simulations using the Dynamic Fluid-Kinetic (DyFK) model. The simulations present the field-aligned density distributions and kinetic features of multiple io…
The prolonged southward IMF-Bz event of 2-4 May 1998: Solar, interplanetary causes and geomagnetic consequences
Janardhan, P.; Yan, Y.; Tokumaru, M. +5 more
A detailed investigation is carried out to understand the prolonged (∼44 h) weakly southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF-Bz) condition during 2-4 May 1998. In situ observations, during the period, show the passage of an expanding magnetic cloud embedded in an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME), followed up by a shock and…
Statistics of the field-aligned currents at the high-latitude energetic electron boundaries in the nightside: Cluster observation
Fu, S. Y.; Zong, Q. G.; Zhang, Hui +4 more
Magnetic field disturbances with a clear bipolar signature are frequently observed when the Cluster spacecraft fleet passes through both southern and northern high-latitude energetic electron boundaries at the nightside magnetosphere. The dominant variation of the bipolar signature is in the azimuthal direction of the local mean field-aligned coor…
Time-of-flight mass spectrographs—From ions to neutral atoms
Galvin, A. B.; Kistler, L. M.; Kucharek, H. +2 more
After their introduction to space physics in the mid 1980s time-of-flight (TOF) spectrographs have become a main staple in spaceborne mass spectrometry. They have largely replaced magnetic spectrometers, except when extremely high mass resolution is required to identify complex molecules, for example, in the vicinity of comets or in planetary atmo…
Penetration of magnetosheath plasma into dayside magnetosphere: 2. Magnetic field in plasma filaments
Goldstein, Melvyn L.; Pollock, Craig; Lyatsky, Wladislaw +2 more
In this paper, we examined plasma structures (filaments), observed in the dayside magnetosphere but containing magnetosheath plasma. These filaments show the stable antisunward motion (while the ambient magnetospheric plasma moved in the opposite direction) and the existence of a strip of magnetospheric plasma, separating these filaments from the …