MAVEN observation of magnetosonic waves in the Martian magnetotail region

Magnetosonic waves are an important medium for energy transfer in collisionless space plasma.Magnetosonic waves have been widely investigated in the upstream of the bow shock at Mars.These waves are believed to originate from pickup ions or reflected particles.By utilizing MAVEN spacecraft data,we have observed the occurrence of quasi-perpendicularly propagating magnetosonic emissions near the proton gyrofrequency in the Martian magnetotail region.These plasma waves are associated with a significant enhancement of proton and oxygen flux.The excited magnetosonic waves could possibly heat the protons through resonance and facilitate the ionospheric plasma escape.Our results could be helpful to better understand the Mars’magnetospheric dynamics and offer insights into possible energy redistribution between waves and plasma in the Martian nightside magnetosphere.

Small-scale dipolarization fronts in the Earth’s magnetotail

Previous studies suggest that dipolarization fronts (DFs) are 1 to 3RE (RE is the earth radius) wide in the dawn-dusk direction. Recent kinetic simulations have found that DFs may break up into small-scale structures after they are produced by reconnection. Motivated by this simulation, we revisited the scale size of DFs in the dawn-dusk direction by using Cluster observations during the years when the inter-distance among Cluster spacecraft was between 1000 and 2000 km. We selected the DFs that were detected by more than one spacecraft and estimated the radii of these DFs by a simple geometrical analysis, which is based on comparison of DF normals observed by different spacecraft. We found a few DFs that were only a few ion inertial lengths in the dawn-dusk direction. These results point out the importance of multi-scale coupling during the evolution of DFs.

Understanding Substorms in the Magnetotail：Early Development and Recent Progress

This is a concise review of physics of the substorm in the magnetotail.It consists of two parts. The first part summarizes historical developments in the early days of the space age(1960-1975)when the basic concepts such as magnetotail and reconnection were established and the leading model of the substorm was introduced.The second part is an overview of the research conducted in recent years(1995-2010)when very significant advances have been achieved in understanding the substorm physics by virtue of several major satellites missions that addressed the magnetotail physics intensively.

The substorm current wedge and midnight sector partial ring current near substorm onset: A synthesis based on a magnetotail magnetic field geometry model

The Substorm Current Wedge （SCW） occurrence in the late growth and onset phases of substorms was proposed as the current system which disrupts cross-tail current by diverting it to the ionosphere. The closure current for the SCW originally was suggested to be the strong westward auroral electrojet （WEJ）. However, the SCW-WEJ system has no viable generator current. Similarly, the asymmetric or Partial Ring Current （PRC） increases in strength during the growth phase, and is sometimes associated with an enhanced Region 2 field-aligned current （FAC） closing to the ionosphere, but specifics of that closure have been lacking. Here we present a tmifying picture which includes the SCW post- and pre-midnight （AM and PM, respectively） currents and a generator current in the midnight portion of the PRC system, with these currents based upon a model of the nightside magnetotail magnetic geometry. That geometry consists of open north and south lobe regions surrounding a plasmasheet with two types of closed field line regions-stretched lines in the central part of the plasmasheet （SPS） and dipolar lines （DPS） between the low lati- tude boundary layer （LLBL） regions and the SPS. There is also an important plasmasheet transition region （TPS） in which the dipolar field near the plasmapause gradually transforms to stretched lines near the earthward edge of the SPS, and in which the midnight part of the PRC flows. We propose that our proposed near-onset current system consists of a central current which be- comes part of the midnight sector PRC and which is the generator, to which are linked two three-part current systems, one on the dawnside and one on the duskside. The three-part systems consist of up and down FACs closing as Pedersen currents in the iono- sphere. These 3-part systems are not activated until near-onset is reached, because of a lack of ionospheric conductivity in the appropriate locations where the Pedersen current closure occurs. The initial downward FAC of the 3-part dawnside system and the final upward FAC of the 3-part duskside system correspond to the AM and PM current segments, respectively, of the originally proposed SCW.

Distribution of O^(+)and O_(2)^(+) fluxes and their escape rates in the near-Mars magnetotail:A survey of MAVEN observations

Tailward ion outflows in the Martian-induced magnetotail are known to be one of the major channels for Martian atmospheric escape.On the basis of nearly 6.5 years of observations from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN(MAVEN)mission,we investigate the statistical distribution of tailward and Marsward fluxes of heavy ions(i.e.,O^(+),and O_(2)^(+))in the near-Mars magnetotail and explore their characteristic responses to the corotating interaction region(CIR),solar wind dynamic pressure,and local magnetic field intensity.Our results show that the tailward fluxes of oxygen ions and molecular oxygen ions in the magnetotail are significantly greater than their Marsward fluxes and that the tailward flux of molecular oxygen ions is generally larger than that of oxygen ions.Furthermore,the tailward ion flux distribution exhibits dependence on the CIR,solar wind dynamic pressure,and local magnetic field strength in a manner stronger than the Marsward ion flux distribution.According to the distribution of tailward ion fluxes,we calculate the corresponding escape rates of heavy ions and show that when the CIR occurs,the total escape rates of oxygen ions and molecular oxygen ions increase by a factor of~2 and~1.2,respectively.We also find that the escape rates of heavy ions increase with the enhancement of solar wind dynamic pressure,whereas the overall effect of the local magnetic field is relatively weak.Our study has important implications for improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the Martian atmospheric escape and the evolution of the Martian atmospheric climate.

Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetotail Associated With Substorms

Magnetic reconnection is one of the most important,dynamic phenomena in the magnetotail in terms of magnetic field line configuration change and energy release.It is believed to occur in the distant magnetotail mainly during southward interplanetary magnetic field periods and in the near-Earth magnetotail in association with substorms.In the present paper,we discuss several important issues concerning magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail associated with substorms,such as reconnection signatures,location,timing,spatial scale,and behavior,from the macroscopic,observational point of view.

Statistical research on the motion properties of the magnetotail current sheet:Cluster observations

The origin of the flapping motion of the earth’s magnetotail current sheet is one of the most important problems in the magnetotail dynamics.Using Cluster data,we make a statistical research on the motion properties of the magnetotail current sheet of 2001 and 2003.We calculate the velocities of the magnetotail current sheet using new methods and obtain the distribution of the magnetotail current sheet velocities in the X-Y plane in GSE coordinate system.Our results show that although most of the current sheets were propagating toward the tail flanks and those of the exceptions lay in dusk side,which is consistent with previous studies,the proportions of the current sheet which were propagating toward midnight (where |YGSE|=0) were higher than those in previous studies.Motions of the current sheet in the middle area (|YGSE|【8 Re) of the magnetotail are investigated.Relatively high value of the Z component of the velocity further confirms that the middle area of the magnetotail might be a source region for the motion of the current sheets which were propagating towards the tail flanks.According to our case studies,the way the current sheets propagated toward midnight area differs significantly from that toward dusk and dawn side,from which we infer that there might be two different kinds of current sheet motions originated from different sources.The statistical results of this paper may give some clues for further studies on the origin of the flapping motion of the magnetotail current sheet.

Effect of upward ion on field-aligned currents in the near-earth magnetotail

A 3-dimensional resistive MHD simulation was carried out to study the effect of the upward ions on the field-aligned currents (FACs) in the near-earth magnetotail. The simulation results show that the up-flow ions originating from the nightside auroral oval would drift into the center plasma sheet along the magnetic field lines in the plasma sheet boundary, and have an important effect on the field-aligned currents. The main conclusions include that: 1) the upward-ions mainly affect the field- aligned currents in the near-earth magnetotail (inside 15 Re); 2) the generated FACs in the near-earth region have two types, i.e., Region 1 FAC in the high-latitude and Region 2 FAC in the low-latitude; 3) FACs increase with the enhancement of the upward ion flux; 4) with the same flux of the upward ions, FACs enhance with the increase of the velocity of the up-flow ions; 5) the intensification of FACs is also closely related with the latitude of the upward ions, and the ions from the closed field line region generate larger FACs; 6) the generation of FACs is closely related with By created by the upward ions.

3D MHD simulation of the double-gradient instability of the magnetotail current sheet

Flapping motion of the current sheet(CS) is an important physical process in the Earth's magnetotail. The magnetic doublegradient model, which includes both the instability and wave modes, offers a reasonable explanation for the exciting and propagation of the flapping wave. In this paper, we apply an advanced numerical magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) scheme(conservation element and solution element(CESE)-MHD) to simulate the magnetic double-gradient instability in an idealized current sheet that mimics the magnetotail configuration. We initialize the simulations with a numerically relaxed magnetotail equilibrium, in which the normal component of the magnetic field has a tailward gradient. It is confirmed in our simulation that the instability develops in the current layer. The growth rate of the instability yielded from the simulation is very close to the prediction of theory, with a relative deviation of only ten percent. The results demonstrate that the CESE-MHD scheme is very powerful in numerical study of the double-gradient mechanism of the CS flapping mode, and can be used for further investigations of the flapping motion in more realistic CS configurations.

Particle precipitation from the magnetotail during substorms

The dynamics of particles in the magnetosphere during a substorm has been studied. The electromagnetic field of the magnetotail is assumed to be a dawn-dusk electric field and a two-dimensional neutral sheet magnetic field with Bz, where Bz varies with the distance from the earth. The numerical trajectories of the particles show that there is a non-adiabatic region near the equatorial plane, which is determined by δ = |(ρ·(?))B| /B>0.1 (ρ is the Larmor radius). The vanishing of the invariant μ leads to a pitch angle scattering. After a long time of scattering, most of the pitch angles of the particles become small enough for the particles to precipitate into the ionosphere. With the Tsyganenko model, the magnetosphere might be divided into 6 regions: the closed adiabatic region, the open adiabatic region, the non-adiabatic region near the equatorial plane of the near magnetotail, the non-adiabatic region in the cusp, the neutral sheet adiabatic region and the precipitation region. The precipitation region links the non-adiabatic regions with the aurora oval, which shows that the non-adiabatic region is one of the main sources of partide precipitation during substorms.

Statistical study of magnetotail flux ropes near the lunar orbit

Flux-rope/TCR events near the magnetotail lunar orbit （-67RE 〈 GSM X＊ 〈 -39RE） were studied using magnetic-field and plasma data measured by THEMIS B and C between January 2011 and March 2012. The aberrant coordinate GSM＊, where the X＊ axis is rotated 4° relative to GSM-X, was used to count the occurrence rate. The number ratio of earthward to tailward events was about 3：5. Moreover, the event occurrence rate distribution showed a clear dawn-dusk asymmetry distribution, with dusk-side events accounting for 57.98%. A superposed epoch analysis of the flux-rope events showed that earthward events had a shorter duration in the leading than in the trailing part. Earthward events also displayed a lower temperature and a lower flow speed than tailward events. We studied the relationship between the event occurrence rate and geomagnetic activity level even further. The occurrence rate of tailward flux-rope/TCR events increases with increasing AE-index, whereas earthward events occur mainly in the relatively quiet period of geomagnetic activity （AE - 100-300 nT）. Flux-rope/TCR events identi- fied within a 10 mm time frame were treated as belonging to a single reconnection event. By comparing the occurrence rates of earthward and tailward events along X＊, we estimated the most likely location of the near-Earth reconnection site as X＊ = -36RE.

Evolution of clustered magnetic nulls in a turbulent-like reconnection region in the magnetotail

t Magnetic null points and flux ropes play important roles in the three-dimensional process of magnetic reconnection. In this study, a cluster of null points are reconstructed in the reconnection region in the magnetotail by applying a fitting-reconstruction method to measurements from the Cluster mission. The number of recon- structed null points varies rapidly, presenting a turbulentlike evolution of the magnetic structure. The electron density and the flux of the accelerated electrons were enhanced in this turbulent-like region. During this unstable reconnection process, a B-As-B null structure was formed, showing flux rope features and resembling a secondary island in the observation.

GENERATION MECHANISM OF MAGNETIC NOISE BURSTS IN THE EARTH’S MAGNETOTAIL

In this paper, we study the electromagnetic instability driven by ion beams and plasmainhomogeneity in the plasma sheet boundary layer and for the first time obtain the growthrate spectrum of electromagnetic waves in a broad frequency range (Ω_i<<0.1ω_(LH)?|ω_r|≤Ω_e,Ω_i and Ω_e are respectively the ion and electron cyclotron frequencies, ω_(LH)=(Ω_iΩ_e)^(1/2) is thelower hybrid frequency). The peak of the growth rate spectrum is near |ω_r|≈ω_(LH) and thesecond peak is near |ω_r|?Ω_e. The fundamental characteristics of the growth rate spectrumare in agreement with the satellite observations of the magnetic noise bursts in the magneto-tail.

THEMIS observation of a magnetotail current sheet flapping wave

A flapping wave was observed by THEMIS-B(P1)and THEMIS-C(P2)probes on the dawn side of the magnetotail,while the solar wind was generally stable.The magnetic activity was quite weak,suggesting that this flapping wave was generated by an internal instability,which normally occurs during magnetic quiet times.Our analysis shows that the flapping wave was propagating downward with a tail-aligned scale of at least 3.7 R E and did not show much change in shape during its propagation from P1 to P2.Correlation analysis employed to estimate the time lag between the corresponding half waveforms of P1 and P2 shows that the propagating velocities along the current sheet normal directions were close to each other in the beginning,but increased linearly later on.The average wavelength of the flapping wave is approximately 4 R E.Theoretical analysis suggests that the ballooning type wave model may not be the mechanism for the observed flapping wave,but that the magnetic double-gradient instability model is a more plausible candidate.

Statistical survey on the magnetic field in magnetotail current sheets: Cluster observations

The distribution properties of the magnetic field in magnetotail current sheets have been explored statistically with the magnetic measurement data of the Cluster mission from June to November of the years 2001–2005.It is found that,on average,the strength of the magnetic field and its Bz component in the current sheet are weaker in the region close to midnight but stronger near the dawnside and duskside flanks,which implies that,in general,a thinner current sheet occurs near midnight and thicker ones near both flanks.The occurrence of tail current sheet flapping is higher on both flanks than in the midnight region,although it is most frequent in the dawn flank.Current sheets with a negative Bz component or a strong By component have a higher probability of occurring at magnetic local times of 21:00–01:00,indicating that magnetic activity,e.g.magnetic reconnection and current disruption occur more frequently there.Statistically,the probability distributions of the By component and the tilt angle of magnetic field lines in the current sheet are approximately normal distributions,and the occurrence probability of the flattened current sheet is about one third that of the normal current sheet.The magnetic field and Bz component in the current sheet mainly vary from 1 nT to 10 nT.The By component in the tail central current sheet is on average twice the IMF By at 1 AU.

Observation of directional change of core field inside flux ropes within one reconnection diffusion region in the Earth's magnetotail

Two consecutive magnetic flux ropes, separated by less than 30 s(Dt \ 30 s), are observed within one magnetic reconnection diffusion region without strong guide field in the Earth's magnetotail by Cluster multispacecraft. The flux ropes are characterized by bipolar signatures of the south–north magnetic field component Bz accompanied with strong core magnetic field By, intense current J and density depletions inside of them. In spite of the small but non-trivial global scale negative guide field(–By), there exists a directional change of the core fields of two flux ropes, i.e.,-Byfor the first one, and Byfor the second one. The directions of the core fields are the same as the ambient cross-tail magnetic field component(By) just outside of flux ropes. Therefore, we suggest that the core field of flux ropes is formed by compression of the local preexisting Byand that the directional change of core field is due to the change of local preexisting By. Such a change in ambient Bymight be caused by some microscale physics.

Pressure gradient evolution in the near-Earth magnetotail at the arrival of BBFs

Using in situ observations from THEMIS A, D and E during the 2008–2011 tail season, we present a statistical study of the evolution of pressure gradients in the near-Earth tail during bursty bulk flow(BBF) convection.We identified 138 substorm BBFs and 2,197 non-substorm BBFs for this study. We found that both the pressure and the BZcomponent of the magnetic field were enhanced at the arrival of BBFs at the spacecraft locations. We suggest that the increase of BZduring non-substorm BBFs is associated with flux pile-up. However, the much stronger enhancement of BZduring substorm BBFs implies the occurrence of magnetic field dipolarization which is caused by both the flux pile-up process and near-Earth current disruption. Furthermore, a bow-wave-like high pressure appears to be formed at the arrival of substorm BBFs,which is responsible for the formation of region-1-sense FACs. The azimuthal pressure gradient associated with the arrival of substorm BBFs lasts for about 5 min. The enhanced pressure gradient associated with the bow waveis caused by the braking and diversion of the Earthward flow in the inner plasma sheet. The results from this statistical study suggest that the braking and azimuthal diversion of BBFs may commonly create azimuthal pressure gradients, which are related to the formation of the FAC of the substorm current wedge.

Double Star TC-1 observation of the earthward flowing plasmoids in the near magnetotail

We analyze Double Star TC-1 magnetic field data from July to September in 2004 and find that plas-moids exist in the very near-Earth magnetotail. It is the first time that TC-1 observes the plasmoids inthe magnetotail at X > ?13 RE. According to the difference of the magnetic field structure in plasmoids,we choose two typical cases for our study: the magnetic flux rope on August 6 with the open magneticfield and the magnetic loop on September 14 with the closed magnetic field. Both of the cases are as-sociated with the high speed earthward flow and the magnetic loop is related to a strong substorm. Theions can escape from the magnetic flux rope along its open field line, but the case of the closed mag-netic loop can trap the ions. The earthward flowing plasmoids observed by TC-1 indicate that the mul-tiple X-line magnetic reconnection occurs beyond the distance of X=?10 RE from the earth.

Evidence of guide field magnetic reconnection in flapping current sheets

Based on current sheet flapping motion on 27 August 2018 in the dusk flank magnetotail,as recorded by instruments aboard Magnetospheric Multiscale(MMS)spacecraft,we present the first study of guide field reconnection observed in the flux rope embedded in kink-like flapping current sheets near the dusk-side flank of the magnetotail.Unlike more common magnetotail reconnections,which are symmetric,these asymmetric small-scale(λ_(i)~650 km)reconnections were found in the highly twisted current sheet when the direction normal to the sheet changes from the Z direction into the Y direction.The unique feature of this unusual reconnection is that the reconnection jets are along the Z direction-different from outflow in the X direction,which is the more usual situation.This vertical reconnection jet is parallel or antiparallel to the up-and-down motion of the tail’s current sheet.The normalized reconnection rate R is estimated to be~0.1.Our results indicate that such asymmetric reconnections can significantly enlarge current sheet flapping,with large oscillation amplitudes.This letter presents direct evidence of guide field reconnection in a highly twisted current sheet,characterized by enlarged current sheet flapping as a consequence of the reconnection outflow.

地球磁尾磁通量绳中哨声波的统计研究

哨声波被认为与地球磁尾磁通量绳的动力学有着密切的联系.之前的关于磁通量绳中哨声波的研究都是基于少数几个事件开展分析,并没有给出不同运动方向磁通量绳中的不同频带哨声波的空间分布特征,以及磁场功率谱密度和激发机制等.本文基于磁层多尺度卫星在2017年5月至8月穿越磁尾期间的观测数据,对地球磁尾磁通量绳中的哨声波进行了统计研究.根据磁场变化特征,磁通量绳被分成三个部分:前边界区、核心区和后边界区.根据与当地电子回旋频率(f_(ce))的相对大小,哨声波被分为下带(0.1f_(ce)~0.5f_(ce))和上带(0.5f_(ce)~f_(ce))哨声波.本文分别研究了地球磁尾地向运动和尾向运动磁通量绳中的下带和上带哨声波的空间分布特征,以及磁场功率谱密度和激发机制等.本文研究发现:(1)地球磁尾磁通量绳中观测到的哨声波主要是下带哨声波;(2)下带和上带哨声波都更易在地向运动和尾向运动磁通量绳的后边界区被观测到,并且在该区域它们的磁场功率谱强度也高于其他区域;(3)地向运动磁通量绳核心区的中心区域的下带和上带哨声波和尾向运动磁通量绳核心区的中心区域的下带哨声波可能是由垂直电子温度各向异性激发的;(4)在排除掉具有垂直电子温度各向异性的哨声波后,地向运动和尾向运动磁通量绳后边界区的上带哨声波可能是由电子束激发.本文的研究结果有助于理解哨声波对地球磁尾磁通量绳演化的影响和哨声波在磁尾动力学中所起的作用.