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.     

The distribution characteristics of the flows in the near-Earth region： TC-1 observational results

TC-1 observational results clearly indicate that the velocity of the flows in the near-Earth region is dependent on the satellite location. The flow speed decreases while satellite moves close to the Earth. The plasma flow in the region close to the Earth tends to drift into the midnight region from the dawn and dusk region while the flow in the region away from the Earth shows an opposite drift. The observational results also show that the tailward flows are mainly located in the plasma sheet boundary while the earthward flow becomes dominant in the plasma sheet. It is found that both the strong tailward and earthward flows are distributed in the region around X= -11 Re, which coincides with the trigger region of the substorm onset. Hence, it may suggest that the flows are related with the trigger of the substorm onset. In addition, the BBFs coming from the mid-tail maily distributed in the region where X〈-9R E a n d ｜Z｜ 〈 3 R E that differs from the convection.     

Downward current electron beams observed at the dipolarization front

The strong field-aligned pitch angle distribution of electrons is observed right at the dipolarization front (DF) before the arriving of a high speed flow when the four Cluster satellites are traveling in the magnetotail around 15 R E on July 22, 2001. The increased electron fluxes only last for a short time period at the DF, corresponding to just a few bouncing periods for 1 keV electrons. The field-aligned current contributed by these electrons agrees well with that calculated by the magnetic field observations by four satellites at the front. These electron streams are found in the energy range of 0.2-2 keV, peak around 1 keV. It is suggested that these downward current electrons may be originated near the aurora region by some kinds of potential structure. The occurrence of these electrons implies that the formation of the dipolarization front and the associated field-aligned current play an important role in the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.     

Observations of kinetic Alfvén waves by THEMIS near a substorm onset

Low frequency electromagnetic fluctuations in the vicinity of a magnetospheric substorm onset were investigated using simultaneous observations by THEMIS multiple probes in the near-Earth plasma sheet in the magnetotail.The observations indicate that in the vicinity of a substorm onset,kinetic Alfvén waves can be excited in the high-βplasma sheet(β=2μ0nT/B 2 ,the ratio of plasma thermal pressure to magnetic pressure)within the near-Earth magnetotail.The kinetic Alfvén wave has a small spatial scale in the high-βplasma.The parallel electric field accompanying kinetic Alfvén waves accelerates the charged particles along the magnetic field.The kinetic Alfvén waves play an important role in the substorm trigger process,and possibly in the formation of a substorm current wedge.     

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 Bz component of the magnetic field were enhanced at the arrival of BBFs at the spacecraft locations. We suggest that the increase of Bz during non-substorm BBFs is associated with flux pile-up. However, the much stronger enhancement of Bz during 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 wave is 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 forrnation of the FAC of the substorm current wedge.     

Braking of high-speed flows in the magnetotail:THEMIS joint observations

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.     

Continuous lobe reconnection in the mid-tail and its relationship to substorms： Cluster observations of continuous lobe reconnection in the mid-magneto tail

When the IMF turns southward, a great amount of magnetic energy is stored in the magnetotail, and the electric field across the magnetotail substantially enhances. As long as magnetic reconnection （MR） in the magnetotail initiates and continues, the magnetic field and plasma in the central plasma sheet are carried away to the near-Earth and down to the tail, the magnetic field and plasma in the lobe region enter the CPS and are involved in MR. We call this process “Continuous Lobe Reconnection （CLR）”. In this paper a detailed analysis of Cluster observation of MR through 2001--2003 is made. Plenty of CLR events are found that led to considerable changes of tail configuration, appearance of BBF, as well as large-scale bubbles in which both plasma temperature and number density substantially decrease. It is shown that in general CLR events last for dozens of minutes and have good correspondence to substorm initiation under the condition of continuous southward IMF.     

Convective high-speed flow and field-aligned high-speed flows explored by TC-1

From June 1, 2004 to October 31, 2006, a total 465 high-speed flow events are observed by the TC-1 satellite in the near-Earth region （-13 RE〈X〈-9 RE, ｜Y｜〈10 RE, ｜Z＋〈5 RE）, Based on the angle between the flow and the magnetic field, the high-speed flow events are further divided into two types, that is, field-aligned high-speed flow （FAHF） in the plasma sheet boundary and convective bursty bulk flow （BBF） in the center plasma sheet, Among the total 465 high-speed flow events, there are 371 FAHFs, and 94 BBFs, The CHF are mainly concentrated in the plasma sheet, the intersection angle between the flow and the magnetic field is larger, the magnetic field intensity is relatively weak, The FHF are mainly distributed near the boundary layer of the plasma sheet, the intersection angle between the flow and magnetic field is smaller, and the magnetic field intensity is relatively strong, The convective BBFs have an important effect on the substorm,     

Correlation between continuous lobe reconnection in the mid magnetotail and substorm expansion onset

Data on plasma sheet crossing measured by Cluster/HIA and Cluster/FGM during the period from July to October in 2001 -2003 are analyzed. Based on previous work on the characteristic features of continuous lobe reconnection (CLR) described in reference, two case studies and a statistical analysis were carried out on correlation between CLR in the mid magnetotail and substorm expansion onset for the events occurring during this period. It is found that almost all CLR events are in close connection with substorms. The beginning of CLR is almost always a few minutes ahead of substorm activities seen in the near Earth magnetotail and on the ground-based stations. This provides a clear indication that CLR is the virtual cause of substorm expansion onset during the period of continuous southward interplanetary magnetic field.     

Plasma sheet stretching accompanied by field aligned energetic ion fluxes observed by the NUADU instrument aboard TC-2

The NUADU (NeUtral Atom Detector Unit) instrument aboard TC-2 recorded 4л solid angle images of charged particles (E >180 keV) spiraling around the magnetic field lines in the near-Earth plasma sheet (at ~ -7 RE, equatorial dawn-to-night side) during a geomagnetic storm (Dst =-219 nT) on August 24, 2005. Energetic ion beam events characterized by symmetrical, ring-like, solid angle distributions around ambient magnetic field lines were observed during a 34-minute traversal of the plasma sheet by the TC-2 spacecraft. Also, observations during these multiple crossings of the plasma sheet were monitored by the magnetometer experiment (FGM) aboard the same spacecraft. During each crossing, a whistler-mode chorus enhancement was observed in the anisotropic area by the TC-2 low frequency electromagnetic wave detector (LFEW/TC-2) at a frequency just above that of the local lower hybrid wave. A comparison of the ion pitch angle distribution (PAD) map with the ambient magnetic field shows that an enhancement in the field aligned energetic ion flux was accompanied by tailward stretching of the magnetic field lines in the plasma sheet. In contrast, the perpendicular ion-flux enhancement was accompanied by a signature indicating the corresponding shrinkage of the magnetic field lines in the plasma sheet. Since both parallel ion-flux and perpendicular ion-flux enhancements occurred intermittently, the data were interpreted to imply a dynamical, oscillatory process of the magnetic field line (stretching and shrinking) in the near-Earth plasma sheet, which might have acted to help establish an interaction region in this area which would support continuous aurora-substorm triggering during the ongoing magnetic storm. The whistler-mode chorus may have been produced due to ion gyro-resonance during particle pitch angle diffusion after the plasma sheet compression.     

Auroral substorm response to solar wind pressure shock

Two cases of auroral substorms have been studied with the Polar UVI data, which were associated with solar wind pressure shock arriving at the Earth. The global aurora activities started about 1–2 min after pressure shocks arrived at dayside magnetopause, then nightside auroras intensified rapidly 3–4 min later, with auroral substorm onset. The observations in synchronous orbit indicated that the compressing effects on magnetosphere were observed in their corresponding sites about 2 min after the pressure shocks impulse magnetopause. We propose that the auroral intensification and substorm onset possibly result from hydromagnetic wave produced by the pressure shock. The fast-mode wave propagates across the magnetotail lobes with higher local Alfven velocity, magnetotail was compressed rapidly and strong lobe field and cross-tail current were built in about 1–2 min, and furthermore the substorm was triggered due to an instability in current sheet.     

磁层亚暴过程中的磁岛合并特征

采用实际的磁尾位型,利用数值模拟研究地球近地磁尾磁层亚暴过程中的磁岛合并过程,选取了磁尾电流片中三个测量点,分析了电流、磁场、等离子体密度以及速度随时间的变化规律,合理的解释磁层亚暴过程中的观测现象。     

磁层亚暴过程中高速流分布

采用实际的磁尾位型,利用数值模拟方法研究磁层亚暴过程中高速流分布。结果表明垂直磁场的高速流主要分布在电流片内,范围在|Z|<0.25RE;平行磁场高速流分布区域在两个区域较大,一个是距离地球较近的磁场较强的区域,另一个是距离等离子体片较近磁场较强的区域。     

Comparative study of a substorm event by satellite observation and model simulation

A substorm event has been simulated for the first time by using SWMF (Space Weather Modeling Framework) developed by the University of Michigan. The model results have been validated using Geotail and Cluster satellite observations. The substorm onset occurs at 22:08 UT on September 28, 2004, as identified from FUV WIC observations on the NASA IMAGE spacecraft. SWMF can couple effectively the magnetosphere, inner magnetosphere and ionosphere processes and is driven by the solar wind and IMF (Interplanetary Magnetic Field) parameters, which are measured by ACE satellite and time delayed to the upstream boundary of the model. It shows that (1) SWMF can predict well the large-scale variations of the magnetospheric magnetic field and ionospheric currents during the substorm event; and (2) the accuracy of the time delay of the solar wind from ACE to the outer boundary of the model has great effects on the model results. Finally, the substorm trigger mechanism has been discussed and the way of improvement of the model has been pointed out.     

近地磁尾近赤道区域磁场分布的多项式拟合

通过对TC-1卫星2004年7月1日至2004年10月31日期间的数据进行三次多项式拟合,得到了一个用三次多项式表示的近地磁尾近赤道区域磁场分布的经验表达式,该表达式具有一定程度上的应用价值.     

亚暴期间场向电流的特征

分析了由ISEE-1和ISEE-2飞船在亚暴期间观测到的场向电流的特性,包括场向电流所伴随的行星际磁场、地方时与L值分布以及场向电流强度和密度随亚暴位相的变化,并着重分析了亚暴电流楔的特征。结果表明,亚暴膨胀相的场向电流强度和密度都达到极大值;亚暴的膨胀相是由行星际磁场转向或南向分量变小触发的,其起始位置很可能位于近地等离子体片内边缘。     

Rotational breakup as the origin of small binary asteroids

Asteroids with satellites are observed throughout the Solar System, from subkilometre near-Earth asteroid pairs to systems of large and distant bodies in the Kuiper belt. The smallest and closest systems are found among the near-Earth and small inner main-belt asteroids, which typically have rapidly rotating primaries and close secondaries on circular orbits. About 15 per cent of near-Earth and main-belt asteroids with diameters under 10 km have satellites. The mechanism that forms such similar binaries in these two dynamically different populations was hitherto unclear. Here we show that these binaries are created by the slow spinup of a 'rubble pile' asteroid by means of the thermal YORP (Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack) effect. We find that mass shed from the equator of a critically spinning body accretes into a satellite if the material is collisionally dissipative and the primary maintains a low equatorial elongation. The satellite forms mostly from material originating near the primary's surface and enters into a close, low-eccentricity orbit. The properties of binaries produced by our model match those currently observed in the small near-Earth and main-belt asteroid populations, including 1999 KW(4) (refs 3, 4).     

Responses of properties in the plasma sheet and at the geosynchronous orbit to interplanetary shock

On July 22, 2004, the WIND spacecraft detected a typical interplanetary shock. There was sustaining weak southward magnetic field in the preshock region and the southward field was suddenly enhanced across the shock front （i.e., southward turning）. When the shock impinged on the magnetosphere, the magnetospheric plasma convection was abruptly enhanced in the central plasma sheet, which was directly observed by both the TC-1 and Cluster spacecraft located in different regions. Simultaneously, the Cluster spacecraft observed that the dawn-to-dusk electric field was abruptly enhanced. The variations of the magnetic field observed by TC-1, Cluster, GOES-10 and GOES-12 that were distributed in different regions in the plasma sheet and at the geosynchronous orbit are obviously distinct. TC-1 observations showed that the magnetic intensity kept almost unchanged and the elevation angle decreased, but the Cluster spacecraft, which was also in the plasma sheet and was further from the equator, observed that the magnetic field was obviously enhanced. Simultaneously, GOES-12 located near the midnight observed that the magnetic intensity sharply increased and the elevation angle decreased, but GOES-10 located in the dawn side observed that the magnetic field was merely compressed with its three components all sharply increasing. Furthermore, the energetic proton and electron fluxes at nearly all channels observed by five LANL satellites located at different magnetic local times （MLTs） all showed impulsive enhancements due to the compression of the shock. The responses of the energetic particles were much evident on the dayside than those on the nightside. Especially the responses near the midnight were rather weak. In this paper, the possible reasonable physical explanation to above observations is also discussed. All the shock-induced responses are the joint effects of the solar wind dynamic pressure pulse and the magnetic field southward turning.     

Analysis of characteristic of aurora substorm observed at Antarctic Zhongshan station

The characteristics of a strong aurora substorm observed at Antarctic Zhongshan station (magnetic latitude=74.5°) on 8 April, 1999, were discussed and analyzed. The developing steps of the aurora substorm that happened in dusk time were almost the same with that of midnight aurora substorm. The averaged moving speed of the aurora arc toward pole area during the substorm expansion phase was about 3.0 km/s, westward-traveling surge speed was about 2.0 km/s. The extension from south to north in the substorm can cover 1100 km in distance. Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (49634160) Biography: Ai Young (1958-), male, Associate professor, research direction: upper atmosphere physics.     

A preliminary exploration of the mechanism for the occurrence of two types of various magnetic structures in the magnetotail

As well known, the magnetic cross-tail component B_y in the magnetotail is in direct proportion to the in-terplanetary magnetic field (IMF) B_y component. And the polarity of IMF and plasmoid / flux rope B_y components do indeed agree. This results indicate that the IMF B_y penetrates plasmoids and the magnetic structures must therefore be three-dimensional. In this note, the dynamical processes of magnetotail in the course of a substorm are studied using a MHD code with two-dimensions and three components on the basis of two types of initial equilibrium solutions of the quiet magnetotail. The numerical results of two cases illustrate various features of time evolution of B_y component that correspond to two kinds of plasmoid-like structures: one is associated with a flux rope core and the other resembles a “closed loop” plamoid. Therefore, the occurrence of various magnetic structures in the magnetotail might be related to nonsteady driven reconnection with different distributions of the B_y component.