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Resonant instabilities of kinetic Alfvén waves in the Earth's magnetosphere with superthermal electrons

Lakhina, G. S.; Singh, S. V.; Barik, K. C.

A theoretical plasma model for the generation of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs), having background Maxwellian ions, κ-electrons, and drifting Maxwellian beam ions, is discussed. The ion beam streams along the ambient magnetic field, whereas velocity shear is perpendicular to it. The role played by nonthermal electrons in the excitation of resonant KA…

Generation of kinetic Alfvén waves in dayside magnetopause reconnection: A 3-D global-scale hybrid simulation

Wang, Xueyi; Lin, Yu; Guo, Zhifang +1 more

In this paper, we perform a three-dimensional (3-D) global-scale hybrid simulation to investigate the generation of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) in reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. In the simulation, the magnetopause reconnection takes place due to a self-consistent interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere, in which the…

Acceleration of plasma in current sheet during substorm dipolarizations in the Earth's magnetotail: Comparison of different mechanisms

Parkhomenko, Elena I.; Malova, Helmi V.; Grigorenko, Elena E. +6 more

This work is devoted to the investigation of particle acceleration during magnetospheric dipolarizations. A numerical model is presented taking into account the four scenarios of plasma acceleration that can be realized: (A) total dipolarization with characteristic time scales of ≈3 min; (B) single peak value of the normal magnetic component _…

A three-dimensional model of spiral null pair to form ion-scale flux ropes in magnetic reconnection region observed by Cluster

Dunlop, Malcolm; He, Jiansen; Xie, Lun +10 more

The magnetic structure and topology of the three-dimensional magnetic reconnection region are significantly dynamic and complex. Small-scale flux ropes and magnetic null points are frequently detected in the reconnection outflow region and diffusion region due to the increased in situ measurements at high temporal cadences. Previous studies have d…