Characteristics of Minor Ions and Electrons in Flux Transfer Events Observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
| Autor: | S. M. Petrinec, J. Mukherjee, Sarah K. Vines, S. A. Fuselier, W. R. Paterson, K. J. Trattner, James L. Burch, Christopher T. Russell, R. G. Gomez, Roy B. Torbert, Charlie J. Farrugia, Robert J. Strangeway, Chuanzhen Zhao, Michael O. Chandler, David G. Sibeck, Barbara L. Giles |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Flux 01 natural sciences Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interactions Atmospheric Sciences Magnetopause and Boundary Layers Magnetosheath Results of the GEM Dayside Kinetics Southward IMF Challenge Magnetospheric Physics Magnetic Reconnection Research Articles 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Physics Solar Physics Astrophysics and Astronomy Flux tube magnetopause Magnetic reconnection Computational physics Solar wind Geophysics Space and Planetary Science magnetic reconnection Physics::Space Physics Magnetopause Space Plasma Physics Ionosphere Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission Astronomical and Space Sciences Research Article flux transfer events |
| Zdroj: | Journal of geophysical research. Space physics, vol 125, iss 7 Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics |
| Popis: | In this study, the ion composition of flux transfer events (FTEs) observed within the magnetosheath proper is examined. These FTEs were observed just upstream of the Earth's postnoon magnetopause by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft constellation. The minor ion characteristics are described using energy spectrograms, flux distributions, and ion moments as the constellation encountered each FTE. In conjunction with electron data and magnetic field observations, such observations provide important contextual information on the formation, topologies, and evolution of FTEs. In particular, minor ions, when combined with the field‐aligned streaming of electrons, are reliable indicators of FTE topology. The observations are also placed (i) in context of the solar wind magnetic field configuration, (ii) the connection of the sampled flux tube to the ionosphere, and (iii) the location relative to the modeled reconnection line at the magnetopause. While protons and alpha particles were often depleted within the FTEs relative to the surrounding magnetosheath plasma, the He+ and O+ populations showed clear enhancements either near the center or near the edges of the FTE, and the bulk plasma flow directions are consistent with magnetic reconnection northward of the spacecraft and convection from the dayside toward the flank magnetopause. Key Points Long‐duration magnetosheath FTEs observed under at postnoon local times and under similar solar wind conditions are compared and contrastedMinor ions from the magnetosphere are observed at higher energies at the edges than at the center of the FTEsThe cores of the magnetosheath FTEs are on closed field lines |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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