Whistler mode waves are critical emissions in magnetized plasmas that usually influence the electron dynamics in a planetary magnetosphere.In this paper,we present a unique event in the Martian magnetosphere in which ...Whistler mode waves are critical emissions in magnetized plasmas that usually influence the electron dynamics in a planetary magnetosphere.In this paper,we present a unique event in the Martian magnetosphere in which enhanced whistler mode waves(~10^(−11) V^(2)/m^(2)/Hz)with frequency of 0.1 f_(ce)-0.5 f_(ce) occurred,based on MAVEN data,exactly corresponding to a significant decrease of suprathermal electron fluxes.The diffusion coefficients are calculated by using the observed electric field wave spectra.The pitch angle diffusion coefficient can approach 10^(−2) s^(−1),which is much larger,by~100 times,than the momentum diffusion coefficient,indicating that pitch angle scattering dominates the whistler-electron resonance process.The current results can successfully explain the dropout of the suprathermal electrons in this event.This study provides direct evidence for whistler-driven electron losses in the Martian magnetosphere.展开更多
Whistler-mode chorus waves are regarded as an important acceleration mechanism contributing to the formation of relativistic and ultra-relativistic electrons in the Jovian radiation belts. Quantitative determination o...Whistler-mode chorus waves are regarded as an important acceleration mechanism contributing to the formation of relativistic and ultra-relativistic electrons in the Jovian radiation belts. Quantitative determination of the chorus wave driven electron scattering effect in the Jovian magnetosphere requires detailed information of both ambient magnetic field and plasma density and wave spectral property, which however cannot be always readily acquired from observations of existed missions to Jupiter. We therefore perform a comprehensive analysis of the sensitivity of chorus induced electron scattering rates to ambient magnetospheric and wave parameters in the Jovian radiation belts to elaborate to which extent the diffusion coefficients depend on a number of key input parameters. It is found that quasi-linear electron scattering rates by chorus can be strongly affected by the ambient magnetic field intensity, the wave latitudinal coverage, and the peak frequency and bandwidth of the wave spectral distribution in the Jovian magnetosphere, while they only rely slightly on the background plasma density profile and the peak wave normal angle, especially when the wave emissions are confined at lower latitudes. Given the chorus wave amplitude, chorus induced electron scattering rates strongly depend on Jovian L-shell to exhibit a tendency approximately proportional to L_J^3. Our comprehensive analysis explicitly demonstrates the importance of reliable information of both the ambient magnetospheric state and wave distribution property to understanding the dynamic electron evolution in the Jovian radiation belts and therefore has implications for future mission planning to explore the extreme particle radiation environment of Jupiter and its satellites.展开更多
We provide correlated observations of enhanced dayside whistler-mode waves and energetic electron acceleration collected by the CLUSTER and GOES satellites during the 23～24 September 2001 storm. Energetic （〉0.6 MeV...We provide correlated observations of enhanced dayside whistler-mode waves and energetic electron acceleration collected by the CLUSTER and GOES satellites during the 23～24 September 2001 storm. Energetic （〉0.6 MeV） electron fluxes are found to increase significantly during the recovery phase and the main phase, by a factor of～50 higher than the prestorm level. These high electron fluxes occur when strong dayside whistler-mode waves are present. Two-dimensional （2D） numerical simulations are carried out and the results demonstrate that the dayside whistler-mode wave can contribute to such enhancements in electron flux within 24 h, consistent with the observation.展开更多
A three-dimensional ray tracing study of a whistler-mode chorus is conducted for different geomagnetic activities by using a global core plasma density model. For the upperband chorus, the initial azimuthal wave angle...A three-dimensional ray tracing study of a whistler-mode chorus is conducted for different geomagnetic activities by using a global core plasma density model. For the upperband chorus, the initial azimuthal wave angle affects slightly the projection of ray trajectories onto the plane （Z, √（x^2 ＋ y^2））, but controls the longitudinal propagation. The trajectory of the upper-band chorus is strongly associated with the plasmapause and the magnetic local time （MLT） of chorus source region. For the high geomagnetic activity, the chorus trajectory moves inward together with the plasmapause. In the bulge region, the plasmapause extends outward, while the chorus trajectory moves outward together with the plasmapause. For moderately or high geomagnetic activity, the lower-band chorus suffers low hybrid resonance （LHR） reflection before it reaches the plasmapause, leading to a weak correlation with the geomagnetic activity and magnetic local time of the chorus source region. For low geomagnetic activity, the lower-band chorus may be reflected firstly at the plasmapause instead of suffering LHR reflection, exhibiting a propagation characteristic similar to that of the upper-band chorus. The results provide a new insight into the propagation characteristics of the chorus for different geomagnetic activities and contribute to further understanding of the acceleration of energetic electron by a chorus wave.展开更多
Low-frequency chorus emissions have recently attracted much attention due to the suggestion that they may play important roles in the dynamics of the Van Allen Belts.However, the mechanism(s) generating these low-freq...Low-frequency chorus emissions have recently attracted much attention due to the suggestion that they may play important roles in the dynamics of the Van Allen Belts.However, the mechanism(s) generating these low-frequency chorus emissions have not been well understood..In this letter, we report an interesting case in which background plasma density lowered the lower cutoff frequency of chorus emissions from above 0.1 f_(ce)(typical ordinary chorus) to 0.02 f_(ce)(extremely low-frequency chorus).Those extremely low-frequency chorus waves were observed in a rather dense plasma, where the number density N_e was found to be several times larger than has been associated with observations of ordinary chorus waves.For suprathermal electrons whose free energy is supplied by anisotropic temperatures, linear growth rates(calculated using in-situ plasma parameters measured by the Van Allen Probes) show that whistler mode instability can occur at frequencies below 0.1 f_(ce) when the background plasma density N_e increases.Especially when N_e reaches 90 cm–3 or more, the lowest unstable frequency can extend to 0.02 f_(ce) or even less, which is consistent with satellite observations.Therefore, our results demonstrate that a dense background plasma could play an essential role in the excitation of extremely lowfrequency chorus waves by controlling the wave growth rates.展开更多
Exohiss is a low-frequency structureless whistler-mode emission potentially contributing to the precipitation loss of radiation belt electrons outside the plasmasphere. Exohiss is usually considered the plasmaspheric ...Exohiss is a low-frequency structureless whistler-mode emission potentially contributing to the precipitation loss of radiation belt electrons outside the plasmasphere. Exohiss is usually considered the plasmaspheric hiss leaked out of the dayside plasmapause.However, the evolution of exohiss after the leakage has not been fully understood. Here we report the prompt enhancements of exohiss waves following substorm injections observed by Van Allen Probes. Within several minutes, the energetic electron fluxes around 100 keV were enhanced by up to 5 times, accompanied by an up to 10-time increase of the exohiss wave power. These substorm-injected electrons are shown to produce a new peak of linear growth rate in the exohiss band(< 0.1 f_(ce)). The corresponding path-integrated growth rate of wave power within 10° latitude of the magnetic equatorial plane can reach 13.4, approximately explaining the observed enhancement of exohiss waves. These observations and simulations suggest that the substorm-injected energetic electrons could amplify the preexisting exohiss waves.展开更多
The PWI/WFC data onboard Geotail during one burst time interval when Geotail is skimming a magnetic reconnection diffusion region in the near-Earth magnetotail is carefully analyzed.Both the whistler-mode wave and the...The PWI/WFC data onboard Geotail during one burst time interval when Geotail is skimming a magnetic reconnection diffusion region in the near-Earth magnetotail is carefully analyzed.Both the whistler-mode wave and the electrostatic solitary wave are found within the region with density depletion on the boundary layer near the magnetic reconnection X-line.The whistler-mode wave is electromagnetic whistler wave propagating quasi-parallel to the ambient field with a small angle between the wave vector and the ambient magnetic field.The whistler-mode wave associated with ESWs suggests that enhanced electromagnetic whistler-mode fluctuations can also be generated after the decay of the ESWs,which is different from the 2-D PIC simulation results.展开更多
Wave-particle interactions triggered by whistler-mode chorus waves are an important contributor to the Jovian radiation belt electron dynamics. While the sensitivity of chorus-driven electron scattering to the ambient...Wave-particle interactions triggered by whistler-mode chorus waves are an important contributor to the Jovian radiation belt electron dynamics. While the sensitivity of chorus-driven electron scattering to the ambient magnetospheric and wave parameters has been investigated, there is rather limited understanding regarding the extent to which the dynamic evolution of Jovian radiation belt electrons, under the impact of chorus wave scattering, depends on the electron distribution profiles. We adopt a group of reasonable initial conditions based upon the available observations and models for quantitative analyses. We find that inclusion of pitch angle variation in initial conditions can result in increased electron losses at lower pitch angles and substantially modify the pitch angle evolution profiles of > ~500 keV electrons, while variations of electron energy spectrum tend to modify the evolution primarily of 1 MeV and 5 MeV electrons. Our results explicitly demonstrate the importance to the radiation belt electron dynamics in the Jovian magnetosphere of the initial shape of the electron phase space density, and indicate the extent to which variations in electron energy spectrum and pitch angle distribution can contribute to the evolution of Jovian radiation belt electrons caused by chorus wave scattering.展开更多
本文利用Van Allen Probes卫星观测数据研究了2013年3月17日至18日强磁暴期间外辐射带高能电子通量(1.8-2.6 M e V)的演化。观测结果显示,在磁暴恢复期间,高能电子通量增涨约50-100倍。在L=4.1的附近,Van Allen Probes同步观测到高强度...本文利用Van Allen Probes卫星观测数据研究了2013年3月17日至18日强磁暴期间外辐射带高能电子通量(1.8-2.6 M e V)的演化。观测结果显示,在磁暴恢复期间,高能电子通量增涨约50-100倍。在L=4.1的附近,Van Allen Probes同步观测到高强度的合声波。本文基于高斯分布的哨声波谱密度分布和偶极子背景磁场模型,计算了弹跳平均电子共振扩散系数,并通过求解Fokker-Planck扩散方程对高能电子相空间密度的演化过程进行了估算。数值计算结果表明,观测到的合声波能够与辐射带高能电子产生回旋共振作用,有效地加速高能电子。本文的观测和模拟结果为合声波加速竞争机制引起的辐射带高能电子演化过程提供了一定依据。展开更多
The recently developed high-quality WHU ELF/VLF receiver system has been deployed in Suizhou, China(geomagnetic latitude 21.81°N, longitude 174.44°E, L=1.16) to detect low latitude extremely-low-frequency(EL...The recently developed high-quality WHU ELF/VLF receiver system has been deployed in Suizhou, China(geomagnetic latitude 21.81°N, longitude 174.44°E, L=1.16) to detect low latitude extremely-low-frequency(ELF: 0.3-3 k Hz) and very-low-frequency(VLF: 3-30 k Hz) emissions originating from either natural or artificial sources since February 2016. During the first-month operation of the receiver system, a total of 3039 clear whistlers have been recorded at this low latitude station with the majority(97.0%) occurring on 28 February and 1 March 2016. Observed whistlers manifest various types including single one-hop, echo train, multi-flash, and multi-path. They tend to intensify after local midnight, reach the peak around 04-05 LT, and then weaken quickly. Both features of lower cutoff frequencies of most whistlers below ~1.6 k Hz and almost uniform dispersion for many successive multi-flash whistlers suggest that these whistlers propagate along the geomagnetic field lines in the duct mode. The computed dispersion varies between ~15 s^(1/2) and 23 s^(1/2) for observed one-hop whistlers and is greater than 50 s^(1/2) for three-hop echo train whistlers, indicating that the whistlers observed at the Suizhou station are low latitude whistlers.展开更多
We report the observation of mirror mode structures by Cluster spacecraft at around X^-16 RE in the Earth’s magnetotail.The wavelength of the mirror structure is larger than 7000 km,corresponding to tens of ion gyror...We report the observation of mirror mode structures by Cluster spacecraft at around X^-16 RE in the Earth’s magnetotail.The wavelength of the mirror structure is larger than 7000 km,corresponding to tens of ion gyroradii.Features of the mirror structures are similar to those detected in the magnetosheath:the anti-correlation between the magnetic field strength and plasma density,zero phase velocity in the plasma rest frame and linear polarization.The structures were observed in a region bounded by two dipolarizations during a substorm intensification.Thus,the dipolarization process may provide a plasma condition facilitating the growth of the mirror mode structures.Another interesting feature is the electron dynamics within the mirror structures.Thermal electron energy flux has an enhancement at 0°and 180°pitch angles inside the magnetic dips of the first three mirror structures and an enhancement at 90°pitch angle inside the magnetic dip of the last structure.The different electron distribution inside the mirror structures might be a result of different evolution stages of the mirror wave.The last structure may be in the nonlinear stage of the mirror instability,whereas the three others with quasi-sinusoidal waveforms may be in the linear stage.In addition,we found that intense whistler waves were confined within the magnetic dips.We conjecture that whistler waves observed in the first three dips were generated in a remote region,then they were trapped in the mirror mode troughs and transported toward the spacecraft;while the whistler wave detected in the last dip was excited locally by the electron anisotropy instability.展开更多
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China grants 42230209, 42241136, 42374199, 42204171, 42274212the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan province Grant 2021JJ20010, 2023JJ20038
文摘Whistler mode waves are critical emissions in magnetized plasmas that usually influence the electron dynamics in a planetary magnetosphere.In this paper,we present a unique event in the Martian magnetosphere in which enhanced whistler mode waves(~10^(−11) V^(2)/m^(2)/Hz)with frequency of 0.1 f_(ce)-0.5 f_(ce) occurred,based on MAVEN data,exactly corresponding to a significant decrease of suprathermal electron fluxes.The diffusion coefficients are calculated by using the observed electric field wave spectra.The pitch angle diffusion coefficient can approach 10^(−2) s^(−1),which is much larger,by~100 times,than the momentum diffusion coefficient,indicating that pitch angle scattering dominates the whistler-electron resonance process.The current results can successfully explain the dropout of the suprathermal electrons in this event.This study provides direct evidence for whistler-driven electron losses in the Martian magnetosphere.
基金supported by the NSFC grants (41674163) and (41474141)by Lunar and Planetary Science Laboratory, Macao University of Science and Technology-Partner Laboratory of Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Chinese Academy of Sciences (FDCT No. 039/2013/A2)by the Hubei Province Natural Science Excellent Youth Foundation (2016CFA044)
文摘Whistler-mode chorus waves are regarded as an important acceleration mechanism contributing to the formation of relativistic and ultra-relativistic electrons in the Jovian radiation belts. Quantitative determination of the chorus wave driven electron scattering effect in the Jovian magnetosphere requires detailed information of both ambient magnetic field and plasma density and wave spectral property, which however cannot be always readily acquired from observations of existed missions to Jupiter. We therefore perform a comprehensive analysis of the sensitivity of chorus induced electron scattering rates to ambient magnetospheric and wave parameters in the Jovian radiation belts to elaborate to which extent the diffusion coefficients depend on a number of key input parameters. It is found that quasi-linear electron scattering rates by chorus can be strongly affected by the ambient magnetic field intensity, the wave latitudinal coverage, and the peak frequency and bandwidth of the wave spectral distribution in the Jovian magnetosphere, while they only rely slightly on the background plasma density profile and the peak wave normal angle, especially when the wave emissions are confined at lower latitudes. Given the chorus wave amplitude, chorus induced electron scattering rates strongly depend on Jovian L-shell to exhibit a tendency approximately proportional to L_J^3. Our comprehensive analysis explicitly demonstrates the importance of reliable information of both the ambient magnetospheric state and wave distribution property to understanding the dynamic electron evolution in the Jovian radiation belts and therefore has implications for future mission planning to explore the extreme particle radiation environment of Jupiter and its satellites.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.40925014,41274165)the Specialized Research Fund for State Key Laboratories,the Aid Program for Science and Technology Innovative Research Team in Higher Educational Institutions of HunanProvincethe Construct Program of the Key Discipline in Hunan Province,China
文摘We provide correlated observations of enhanced dayside whistler-mode waves and energetic electron acceleration collected by the CLUSTER and GOES satellites during the 23～24 September 2001 storm. Energetic （〉0.6 MeV） electron fluxes are found to increase significantly during the recovery phase and the main phase, by a factor of～50 higher than the prestorm level. These high electron fluxes occur when strong dayside whistler-mode waves are present. Two-dimensional （2D） numerical simulations are carried out and the results demonstrate that the dayside whistler-mode wave can contribute to such enhancements in electron flux within 24 h, consistent with the observation.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.40874076,40925014)
文摘A three-dimensional ray tracing study of a whistler-mode chorus is conducted for different geomagnetic activities by using a global core plasma density model. For the upperband chorus, the initial azimuthal wave angle affects slightly the projection of ray trajectories onto the plane （Z, √（x^2 ＋ y^2））, but controls the longitudinal propagation. The trajectory of the upper-band chorus is strongly associated with the plasmapause and the magnetic local time （MLT） of chorus source region. For the high geomagnetic activity, the chorus trajectory moves inward together with the plasmapause. In the bulge region, the plasmapause extends outward, while the chorus trajectory moves outward together with the plasmapause. For moderately or high geomagnetic activity, the lower-band chorus suffers low hybrid resonance （LHR） reflection before it reaches the plasmapause, leading to a weak correlation with the geomagnetic activity and magnetic local time of the chorus source region. For low geomagnetic activity, the lower-band chorus may be reflected firstly at the plasmapause instead of suffering LHR reflection, exhibiting a propagation characteristic similar to that of the upper-band chorus. The results provide a new insight into the propagation characteristics of the chorus for different geomagnetic activities and contribute to further understanding of the acceleration of energetic electron by a chorus wave.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41874194, 41521063, 41374168)
文摘Low-frequency chorus emissions have recently attracted much attention due to the suggestion that they may play important roles in the dynamics of the Van Allen Belts.However, the mechanism(s) generating these low-frequency chorus emissions have not been well understood..In this letter, we report an interesting case in which background plasma density lowered the lower cutoff frequency of chorus emissions from above 0.1 f_(ce)(typical ordinary chorus) to 0.02 f_(ce)(extremely low-frequency chorus).Those extremely low-frequency chorus waves were observed in a rather dense plasma, where the number density N_e was found to be several times larger than has been associated with observations of ordinary chorus waves.For suprathermal electrons whose free energy is supplied by anisotropic temperatures, linear growth rates(calculated using in-situ plasma parameters measured by the Van Allen Probes) show that whistler mode instability can occur at frequencies below 0.1 f_(ce) when the background plasma density N_e increases.Especially when N_e reaches 90 cm–3 or more, the lowest unstable frequency can extend to 0.02 f_(ce) or even less, which is consistent with satellite observations.Therefore, our results demonstrate that a dense background plasma could play an essential role in the excitation of extremely lowfrequency chorus waves by controlling the wave growth rates.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China grants 41631071, 41774170, 41274174, 41174125, 41131065, 41421063, 41231066 and 41304134Chinese Academy of Sciences grants KZCX2-EW-QN510 and KZZD-EW-01-4+2 种基金CAS Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences grant QYZDB-SSWDQC015National Key Basic Research Special Foundation of China Grant No. 2011CB811403Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities WK2080000077
文摘Exohiss is a low-frequency structureless whistler-mode emission potentially contributing to the precipitation loss of radiation belt electrons outside the plasmasphere. Exohiss is usually considered the plasmaspheric hiss leaked out of the dayside plasmapause.However, the evolution of exohiss after the leakage has not been fully understood. Here we report the prompt enhancements of exohiss waves following substorm injections observed by Van Allen Probes. Within several minutes, the energetic electron fluxes around 100 keV were enhanced by up to 5 times, accompanied by an up to 10-time increase of the exohiss wave power. These substorm-injected electrons are shown to produce a new peak of linear growth rate in the exohiss band(< 0.1 f_(ce)). The corresponding path-integrated growth rate of wave power within 10° latitude of the magnetic equatorial plane can reach 13.4, approximately explaining the observed enhancement of exohiss waves. These observations and simulations suggest that the substorm-injected energetic electrons could amplify the preexisting exohiss waves.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41304132)the 53-class General Financial Grant from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(Grant No.2013M532115)+1 种基金the Post-Doctoral Research Program of China(Grant No.42956)the National Basic Research Program of China
文摘The PWI/WFC data onboard Geotail during one burst time interval when Geotail is skimming a magnetic reconnection diffusion region in the near-Earth magnetotail is carefully analyzed.Both the whistler-mode wave and the electrostatic solitary wave are found within the region with density depletion on the boundary layer near the magnetic reconnection X-line.The whistler-mode wave is electromagnetic whistler wave propagating quasi-parallel to the ambient field with a small angle between the wave vector and the ambient magnetic field.The whistler-mode wave associated with ESWs suggests that enhanced electromagnetic whistler-mode fluctuations can also be generated after the decay of the ESWs,which is different from the 2-D PIC simulation results.
基金supported by NSFC grants (41674163) and (41474141)by the Hubei Province Natural Science ExcellentYouth Foundation (2016CFA044)the open-fund grant by the Lunar and Planetary Science Laboratory, Macao University of Science and Technology Partner Laboratory of Key Laboratory of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Wave-particle interactions triggered by whistler-mode chorus waves are an important contributor to the Jovian radiation belt electron dynamics. While the sensitivity of chorus-driven electron scattering to the ambient magnetospheric and wave parameters has been investigated, there is rather limited understanding regarding the extent to which the dynamic evolution of Jovian radiation belt electrons, under the impact of chorus wave scattering, depends on the electron distribution profiles. We adopt a group of reasonable initial conditions based upon the available observations and models for quantitative analyses. We find that inclusion of pitch angle variation in initial conditions can result in increased electron losses at lower pitch angles and substantially modify the pitch angle evolution profiles of > ~500 keV electrons, while variations of electron energy spectrum tend to modify the evolution primarily of 1 MeV and 5 MeV electrons. Our results explicitly demonstrate the importance to the radiation belt electron dynamics in the Jovian magnetosphere of the initial shape of the electron phase space density, and indicate the extent to which variations in electron energy spectrum and pitch angle distribution can contribute to the evolution of Jovian radiation belt electrons caused by chorus wave scattering.
文摘本文利用Van Allen Probes卫星观测数据研究了2013年3月17日至18日强磁暴期间外辐射带高能电子通量(1.8-2.6 M e V)的演化。观测结果显示,在磁暴恢复期间,高能电子通量增涨约50-100倍。在L=4.1的附近,Van Allen Probes同步观测到高强度的合声波。本文基于高斯分布的哨声波谱密度分布和偶极子背景磁场模型,计算了弹跳平均电子共振扩散系数,并通过求解Fokker-Planck扩散方程对高能电子相空间密度的演化过程进行了估算。数值计算结果表明,观测到的合声波能够与辐射带高能电子产生回旋共振作用,有效地加速高能电子。本文的观测和模拟结果为合声波加速竞争机制引起的辐射带高能电子演化过程提供了一定依据。
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grants Nos.41204120,41474141,41304127,41304130,and 41574160)the Projects funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(Grants Nos.2013M542051,2014T70732)the 985 funded project of School of Electronic information,Wuhan University
文摘The recently developed high-quality WHU ELF/VLF receiver system has been deployed in Suizhou, China(geomagnetic latitude 21.81°N, longitude 174.44°E, L=1.16) to detect low latitude extremely-low-frequency(ELF: 0.3-3 k Hz) and very-low-frequency(VLF: 3-30 k Hz) emissions originating from either natural or artificial sources since February 2016. During the first-month operation of the receiver system, a total of 3039 clear whistlers have been recorded at this low latitude station with the majority(97.0%) occurring on 28 February and 1 March 2016. Observed whistlers manifest various types including single one-hop, echo train, multi-flash, and multi-path. They tend to intensify after local midnight, reach the peak around 04-05 LT, and then weaken quickly. Both features of lower cutoff frequencies of most whistlers below ~1.6 k Hz and almost uniform dispersion for many successive multi-flash whistlers suggest that these whistlers propagate along the geomagnetic field lines in the duct mode. The computed dispersion varies between ~15 s^(1/2) and 23 s^(1/2) for observed one-hop whistlers and is greater than 50 s^(1/2) for three-hop echo train whistlers, indicating that the whistlers observed at the Suizhou station are low latitude whistlers.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grants Nos.41174147,41274170,41331070)Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province(Grants No.20122BAB212002)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.2012212020206)
文摘We report the observation of mirror mode structures by Cluster spacecraft at around X^-16 RE in the Earth’s magnetotail.The wavelength of the mirror structure is larger than 7000 km,corresponding to tens of ion gyroradii.Features of the mirror structures are similar to those detected in the magnetosheath:the anti-correlation between the magnetic field strength and plasma density,zero phase velocity in the plasma rest frame and linear polarization.The structures were observed in a region bounded by two dipolarizations during a substorm intensification.Thus,the dipolarization process may provide a plasma condition facilitating the growth of the mirror mode structures.Another interesting feature is the electron dynamics within the mirror structures.Thermal electron energy flux has an enhancement at 0°and 180°pitch angles inside the magnetic dips of the first three mirror structures and an enhancement at 90°pitch angle inside the magnetic dip of the last structure.The different electron distribution inside the mirror structures might be a result of different evolution stages of the mirror wave.The last structure may be in the nonlinear stage of the mirror instability,whereas the three others with quasi-sinusoidal waveforms may be in the linear stage.In addition,we found that intense whistler waves were confined within the magnetic dips.We conjecture that whistler waves observed in the first three dips were generated in a remote region,then they were trapped in the mirror mode troughs and transported toward the spacecraft;while the whistler wave detected in the last dip was excited locally by the electron anisotropy instability.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40674083 and 40390153)National Key Laboratory Research Outlay Grant 40523006the Slovak Research and Development Agency under Contract No. APVV-51-053805.
