During geomagnetically active times such as geomagnetic storms,large amounts of energy can be released into the Earth’s magnetosphere and change the ring current intensity.Previous studies showed that significant enh...During geomagnetically active times such as geomagnetic storms,large amounts of energy can be released into the Earth’s magnetosphere and change the ring current intensity.Previous studies showed that significant enhancement of the ring current was related to geomagnetic storms,while few studies have examined substorm effects on ring current dynamics.In this study,we examine the ring current variation during non-storm time(SYM-H>−50 nT)substorms,especially during super-substorms(AE>1000 nT).We perform a statistical analysis of ring current plasma pressure and number flux of various ion species under different substorm conditions,based on Van Allen Probe observations.The plasma pressure and ion fluxes of the ring current increased dramatically during supersubstorms,while little change was observed for substorms with AE<1000 nT.The results shown in this study indicate that a non-storm time super-substorm may also have a significant contribution to the ring current.展开更多
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 ...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.展开更多
The motion and deceleration processes of plasma sheet high-speed flows have great significance to magnetospheric particle acceleration,magnetic field perturbation,magnetic flux transport,triggering of substorm,and the...The motion and deceleration processes of plasma sheet high-speed flows have great significance to magnetospheric particle acceleration,magnetic field perturbation,magnetic flux transport,triggering of substorm,and the current system formation in the magnetotail.From February to April 2009,two satellites of the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms mission,THA and THE,were often separated largely in Z direction,but had small X and Y separations.Such special configuration allows simultaneous observations of highspeed flows at the center and boundary of the plasma sheet.Based on selected case study and statistical analysis,it is found that for about 89%of the events we selected,the probe further away from the neutral sheet observed the high-speed flow earlier than the one close to the center,and the flow is mainly field aligned.And for about 95%events the probe further away from the neutral sheet observed higher X component of the plasma flow.With the hypothesis that parallel flow keeps the same speed during its earthward propagation while central plasma sheet stream uniformly or suddenly brakes on its way to the earth,we deduced the position where the deceleration begins to be between 13 Re and 17 Re downtail,where thenear-earth reconnection is supposed to occur.In addition,our statistical results show that dipolarization fronts observed in the central plasma sheet are more prominent than those observed in the plasma sheet boundary layer ahead of the high-speed flow.展开更多
Cold ions of plasmaspheric origin have been observed to abundantly appear in the magnetospheric side of the Earth's magnetopause. These cold ions could affect the magnetic reconnection processes at the magnetopaus...Cold ions of plasmaspheric origin have been observed to abundantly appear in the magnetospheric side of the Earth's magnetopause. These cold ions could affect the magnetic reconnection processes at the magnetopause by changing the Alfvén velocity and the reconnection rate, while they could also be heated in the reconnection layer during the ongoing reconnections. We report in situ observations from a partially crossing of a reconnection layer near the subsolar magnetopause. During this crossing, step-like accelerating processes of the cold ions were clearly observed, suggesting that the inflow cold ions may be separately accelerated by the rotation discontinuity and slow shock inside the reconnection layer.展开更多
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...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.展开更多
基金supported by a research grant of China National Space Administration project D020303,NSFC Grant Numbers:41974191the National Key R&D Program of China 2020YFE0202100。
文摘During geomagnetically active times such as geomagnetic storms,large amounts of energy can be released into the Earth’s magnetosphere and change the ring current intensity.Previous studies showed that significant enhancement of the ring current was related to geomagnetic storms,while few studies have examined substorm effects on ring current dynamics.In this study,we examine the ring current variation during non-storm time(SYM-H>−50 nT)substorms,especially during super-substorms(AE>1000 nT).We perform a statistical analysis of ring current plasma pressure and number flux of various ion species under different substorm conditions,based on Van Allen Probe observations.The plasma pressure and ion fluxes of the ring current increased dramatically during supersubstorms,while little change was observed for substorms with AE<1000 nT.The results shown in this study indicate that a non-storm time super-substorm may also have a significant contribution to the ring current.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41031065,41074106 and 40874086)Shandong Natural Science Foundation(JQ201112)partly by the National Basic Research Program of China(2011CB811404)
文摘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.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41031065,41074106,and 40974095)the Shandong Natural Science Foundation(JQ201112)
文摘The motion and deceleration processes of plasma sheet high-speed flows have great significance to magnetospheric particle acceleration,magnetic field perturbation,magnetic flux transport,triggering of substorm,and the current system formation in the magnetotail.From February to April 2009,two satellites of the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms mission,THA and THE,were often separated largely in Z direction,but had small X and Y separations.Such special configuration allows simultaneous observations of highspeed flows at the center and boundary of the plasma sheet.Based on selected case study and statistical analysis,it is found that for about 89%of the events we selected,the probe further away from the neutral sheet observed the high-speed flow earlier than the one close to the center,and the flow is mainly field aligned.And for about 95%events the probe further away from the neutral sheet observed higher X component of the plasma flow.With the hypothesis that parallel flow keeps the same speed during its earthward propagation while central plasma sheet stream uniformly or suddenly brakes on its way to the earth,we deduced the position where the deceleration begins to be between 13 Re and 17 Re downtail,where thenear-earth reconnection is supposed to occur.In addition,our statistical results show that dipolarization fronts observed in the central plasma sheet are more prominent than those observed in the plasma sheet boundary layer ahead of the high-speed flow.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41574138,41604139)the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation(JQ201412)+5 种基金the Chinese Meridian ProjectReading University was supported by STFC consolidated(ST/M000885/1)The Norwegian contribution was supported by the Research Council of Norway(230996.S.R.Z.)support from the U.S.NASA LWS Project(NNX15AB83G)the U.S.Do D MURI Project(ONR15-FOA-0011)supported by the U.S.NSF Geospace Facility program under an agreement AGS-1242204 with Massachusetts Institute of Technology
文摘Cold ions of plasmaspheric origin have been observed to abundantly appear in the magnetospheric side of the Earth's magnetopause. These cold ions could affect the magnetic reconnection processes at the magnetopause by changing the Alfvén velocity and the reconnection rate, while they could also be heated in the reconnection layer during the ongoing reconnections. We report in situ observations from a partially crossing of a reconnection layer near the subsolar magnetopause. During this crossing, step-like accelerating processes of the cold ions were clearly observed, suggesting that the inflow cold ions may be separately accelerated by the rotation discontinuity and slow shock inside the reconnection layer.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2014CB845903,2012CB825604)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41211120176,41274167,41031065,41374166,41330104,41374171)+2 种基金the National R&D Projectsfor Key Scientific Instruments(ZDYZ2012-1-01)UK Science and Technology Facilities Council grant(ST/L005638/1)at UCL/MSSLChina Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2014M550826)
文摘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.
