Search Publications
Plasma physics of magnetic island coalescence during magnetic reconnection
Huang, Shiyong; Zhou, Meng; Deng, Xiaohua +2 more
A large-scale two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation was employed to study the magnetic island coalescence/merging process during magnetic reconnection with guide field. The merged island after coalescence is characterized by strong core field and plasma density dip at the island center. We found that the core field enhancemen…
Statistical study of chorus wave distributions in the inner magnetosphere using Ae and solar wind parameters
Aryan, Homayon; Yearby, Keith; Balikhin, Michael +3 more
Energetic electrons within the Earth's radiation belts represent a serious hazard to geostationary satellites. The interactions of electrons with chorus waves play an important role in both the acceleration and loss of radiation belt electrons. The common approach is to present model wave distributions in the inner magnetosphere under different va…
Jupiter's equatorward auroral features: Possible signatures of magnetospheric injections
Bonfond, B.; Gérard, J. -C.; Grodent, D. +2 more
The present study investigates the characteristics of ultraviolet auroral features located equatorward of the main emission appearing in Hubble Space Telescope images of the northern and southern Jovian hemispheres obtained in 2000-2007. On average, one feature is observed every day, but several auroral structures are occasionally seen over a wide…
Ion densities and magnetic signatures of dust pickup at Enceladus
Dougherty, Michele K.; Saur, Joachim; Kriegel, Hendrik +5 more
Encedalus' plume of charged dust has been shown to strongly modify the plasma structures. Therefore, we analyze the magnetic signatures of dust to constrain the dust plume. For the first time, the mutual feedback between the nanograins and their plasma environment is investigated. Our model combines plasma simulations by means of the A.I.K.E.F. (A…
Magnetic field topology for northward IMF reconnection: Ion observations
Lavraud, B.; Fuselier, S. A.; Trattner, K. J. +1 more
Ion observations from the Cluster spacecraft are used to investigate magnetopause reconnection for northward Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) conditions. When the spacecraft cross the magnetopause and enter the magnetosphere at low latitudes, equatorward of the magnetospheric cusps, multiple ion populations of magnetosheath origin are almost al…
Comparing the solar minima of cycles 22/23 and 23/24: The view from LASCO white light coronal images
Llebaria, A.; Lamy, P.; Floyd, O. +1 more
The Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph LASCO-C2 aboard SOHO has now completed 17 years (1996-2012) of quasi-continuous white-light imaging of the corona from 2.2 to 6.5 solar radii, thus allowing an unprecedented view of its evolution over a solar cycle and a half including the minima of solar cycles 22/23 and 23/24. The corrected and calib…
Direct calculation of the ring current distribution and magnetic structure seen by Cluster during geomagnetic storms
Baker, D. N.; Dunlop, M.; Liu, Z. X. +8 more
Magnetic disturbances caused by the Earth's ring current, particularly during storm time activity, have a dominant effect on the geomagnetic field. Strong currents and large kinetic and magnetic energies can change considerably local field geometry and depress the ground geomagnetic field. The multispacecraft magnetic measurements of Cluster allow…
Electric fields associated with dipolarization fronts
Parks, George K.; Zong, Qiu-Gang; Yao, Zhonghua +6 more
Electric fields associated with dipolarization fronts (DFs) have been investigated in the magnetotail plasma sheet using Cluster observations. We have studied each term in the generalized Ohm's law using data obtained from the multispacecraft Cluster. Our results show that in the plasma flow frame, electric fields are directed normal to the DF in …
Characteristic distribution and possible roles of waves around the lower hybrid frequency in the magnetotail reconnection region
Xu, Xiaojun; Yuan, Zhigang; Huang, Shiyong +5 more
It has long been suggested that waves around the lower hybrid frequency play a significant role in magnetic reconnection. In this paper we statistically study the distribution and possible roles of waves around lower hybrid frequency based on the wave data recorded by the Cluster spacecraft during 21 magnetotail reconnection events. We find that, …
Magnetosheath filamentary structures formed by ion acceleration at the quasi-parallel bow shock
Omidi, N.; Sibeck, D.; Gutynska, O. +1 more
Results from 2.5-D electromagnetic hybrid simulations show the formation of field-aligned, filamentary plasma structures in the magnetosheath. They begin at the quasi-parallel bow shock and extend far into the magnetosheath. These structures exhibit anticorrelated, spatial oscillations in plasma density and ion temperature. Closer to the bow shock…