Numerical simulation of an experimental analogue of a planetary magnetosphere
Not Available
Liao, Andy Sha↗
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3D magnetospheric parallel hybrid multi-grid method applied to planet–plasma interactions
We present a new method to exploit multiple refinement levels within a 3D parallel hybrid model, developed to study planet–plasma interactions. This model is based on the hybrid formalism: ions are kinetically treated whereas electrons are considered as a inertia-less fluid. Generally, ions are represented by numerical particles whose size equals the volume of the cells. Particles that leave a coarse grid subsequently entering a refined region are split into particles whose volume corresponds to the volume of the refined cells. The number of refined particles created from a coarse particle depends on the grid refinement rate. In order to conserve velocity distribution functions and to avoid calculations of average velocities, particles are not coalesced. Moreover, to ensure the constancy of particles' shape function sizes, the hybrid method is adapted to allow refined particles to move within a coarse region. Another innovation of this approach is the method developed to compute grid moments at interfaces between two refinement levels. Indeed, the hybrid method is adapted to accurately account for the special grid structure at the interfaces, avoiding any overlapping grid considerations. Some fundamental test runs were performed to validate our approach (e.g. quiet plasma flow, Alfven wave propagation). Lastly, we also show a planetary application of the model, simulating the interaction between Jupiter's moon Ganymede and the Jovian plasma.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Response of Banded Whistler Mode Waves to the Enhancement of Solar Wind Dynamic Pressure in the Inner Earth's Magnetosphere
With observations of Van Allen Probe A, in this letter we display a typical event where banded whistler waves shifted up their frequencies with frequency bands broadening as a response to the enhancement of solar wind dynamic pressure. Meanwhile, the anisotropy of electrons with energies about several tens of keV was observed to increase. Through the comparison of the calculated wave growth rates and observed wave spectral intensity, we suggest that those banded whistler waves observed with frequencies shifted up and frequency bands broadening could be locally excited by these hot electrons with increased anisotropy. The current study provides a great in situ evidence for the influence on frequencies of banded whistler waves by the enhancement of solar wind dynamic pressures, which reveals the important role of solar wind dynamic pressures playing in the frequency properties of banded whistler waves.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Electron Inertial Effects on Linearly Polarized Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves at Earth's Magnetosphere
We propose a role of the electron inertial effect on linearly polarized electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves at Earth. The linearly polarized EMIC waves have been previously suggested to be generated via mode conversion from the fast compressional wave at the ion-ion hybrid (IIH) resonance. When the electron inertial effects are neglected, the wave normal angle of the mode-converted IIH waves is 90° because the wave vector perpendicular to the magnetic field becomes infinite at the IIH resonance. When the electron inertial effect is considered, the mode-converted IIH waves can propagate across the magnetic field lines, and the wavelength perpendicular to the magnetic field approaches the electron inertial length scale near the Buchsbaum resonance. These waves are referred to as electron inertial waves. Due to the electron inertial effect, the perpendicular wave number to the ambient magnetic field near the IIH resonance remains finite, and the wave normal angle is less than 90°. The wave normal angle where the maximum absorption occurs in a dipole magnetic field is 30–80°, which is consistent with the observed values near the magnetic equator. Thus, the numerical results imply that the linearly polarized EMIC wave generated via mode conversion near the IIH resonance can be detected in between the Buchsbaum and the IIH resonance frequencies, and these waves can have normal angle less than 90°.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Low‐Resource Technique for Measurement of H + and O + in the Terrestrial Magnetosphere
Not Available
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Magnetotail Variability During Magnetospheric Substorms
Abstract In this work, we present a statistical study of substorms covering a five‐year period 2016–2020. Substorm phases were identified from time series of the SuperMAG AL (SML) index using a list of 5,077 previously identified substorm onsets, the SML peak value marking transition from expansion to recovery phase, and the recovery identified as return to activity less than −100 nT in the SML index. Magnetic field observations from THEMIS, RBSP, and MMS missions were used to study the magnetotail characteristics during the substorm evolution. A superposed epoch analysis indicates that the substorm onset occurs almost simultaneously with a few minutes of uncertainty throughout the magnetotail, ranging from geostationary orbit to 20 RE. The onset in the transition region precedes the ground onset by a few minutes. The peak SML time coincides with the peak of the outer transition region Δ B Z , which suggests that the field‐aligned currents driving the SML activity arise from the outer transition region. Analysis of 2D maps of the tail magnetic field shows that the magnetotail current changes are limited to the center of the tail within | Y | < 10 R E . The substorm recovery is fastest in the inner transition region and lasts longer when moving further out. We did not find major asymmetries in the substorm signatures associated with IMF B Y or B Z .
Kumar, S.↗
Fine Structure of Magnetospheric Magnetosonic Waves: 1. Elementary Rising‐Tone Emissions Within Individual Harmonic
Abstract The present study uncovers the fine structures of magnetosonic waves by investigating the EFW waveforms measured by Van Allen Probes. We show that each harmonic of the magnetosonic wave may consist of a series of elementary rising‐tone emissions, implying a nonlinear mechanism for the wave generation. By investigating an elementary rising‐tone magnetosonic wave that spans a wide frequency range, we show that the frequency sweep rate is likely proportional to the wave frequency. We studied compound rising‐tone magnetosonic waves, and found that they typically consist of multiple harmonics in the source region, and may gradually become continuous in frequency as they propagate away from source. Both elementary and compound rising‐tone magnetosonic waves last for ∼1 min which is close to the bounce period of the ring proton distribution, but their relation is not fully understood.
Li, Jinxing↗
Whistler Chorus Amplification in the Magnetosphere: The Nonlinear Free‐Electron Laser Model and the Ginzburg‐Landau Equation
We present a novel nonlinear model for whistler-mode chorus amplification based on the free-electron laser (FEL) mechanism. First, we derive the nonlinear collective variable equations for the whistler-electron interaction. Consistent with in situ satellite observations, these equations predict that a small seed wave can undergo exponential growth, reaching a peak of a few hundred picoteslas after a few milliseconds, followed by millisecond timescale amplitude modulations. Next, we show that when one accounts for multiple wave frequencies and wave spatial variations, the amplitude and phase of the whistler wave can be described by the Ginzburg-Landau equation (GLE), providing a framework for the investigation of solitary wave behavior of chorus modes. These findings enhance our understanding of wave-particle interactions and space weather in the Van Allen radiation belts, deepen the connection between whistler-electron dynamics and FELs, and reveal a novel connection between whistler-mode chorus and the GLE.
Ginsburg-Landau equation↗
Ion cyclotron heating experiments in magnetosphere plasma device RT-1
The ion cyclotron range of frequencies (ICRF) heating with 3 MHz and ∼10 kW is being prepared in RT-1. The operation regime for electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) heating is surveyed as the target plasmas. ECRH with 8.2 GHz and ∼50 kW produces the plasmas with high energy electrons in the range of a few ten keV, but the ions still remain cold at a few ten eV. Ion heating is expected to access high ion beta state and to change the aspect of plasma confinement theoretically. The ICRF heating is applied to the target plasma as an auxiliary heating. The preliminary result of ICRF heating is reported.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Self-organized confinement in whole-device modeling of laboratory magnetospheres
Turbulent self-organization driven by global ideal interchange modes in a dipole-confined plasma is explored with self-consistent, whole-plasma simulations using a flux-tube averaged magnetohydrodynamic model in dipole magnetic geometry. We show the existence of robust particle pinch driven by ideal interchange-mode fluctuations, in which the particles are transported up the density gradient. It is found that the plasma profiles in a dipole field spontaneously relax to a marginally stable state as centrally peaked pressure and density are created by global interchange-mode transport.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
PAMELA’S MEASUREMENTS OF MAGNETOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON HIGH-ENERGY SOLAR PARTICLES
The nature of particle acceleration at the Sun, whether through flare reconnection processes or through shocks driven by coronal mass ejections, is still under scrutiny despite decades of research. The measured properties of solar energetic particles (SEPs) have long been modeled in different particle-acceleration scenarios. The challenge has been to disentangle the effects of transport from those of acceleration. The Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA) instrument enables unique observations of SEPs including the composition and angular distribution of the particles about the magnetic field, i.e., pitch angle distribution, over a broad energy range (>80 MeV)—bridging a critical gap between space-based and ground-based measurements. We present high-energy SEP data from PAMELA acquired during the 2012 May 17 SEP event. These data exhibit differential anisotropies and thus transport features over the instrument rigidity range. SEP protons exhibit two distinct pitch angle distributions: a low-energy population that extends to 90° and a population that is beamed at high energies (>1 GeV), consistent with neutron monitor measurements. To explain a low-energy SEP population that exhibits significant scattering or redistribution accompanied by a high-energy population that reaches the Earth relatively unaffected by dispersive transport effects, we postulate that the scattering or redistribution takes place locally. We believe that these are the first comprehensive measurements of the effects of solar energetic particle transport in the Earth’s magnetosheath.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Radio Signals from Axion Dark Matter Conversion in Neutron Star Magnetospheres
Not Available
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Green Bank and Effelsberg Radio Telescope Searches for Axion Dark Matter Conversion in Neutron Star Magnetospheres
Axion dark matter (DM) may convert to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation in the strong magnetic fields around neutron stars. The radio signature of such a process would be an ultranarrow spectral peak at a frequency determined by the mass of the axion particle. In this work, we analyze data we collected from the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in the L band and the Effelsberg 100-m Telescope in the $\textit{L}$ band and $\textit{S}$ band from a number of sources expected to produce bright signals of axion-photon conversion, including the Galactic center of the Milky Way and the nearby isolated neutron stars RX J0720.4-3125 and RX J0806.4-4123. We find no evidence for axion DM and are able to set constraints on the existence of axion DM in the highly motivated mass range between ~ 5 and 11 μ eV with the strongest constraints to date on axions in the ~10–11 μ eV range.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
Formation and evolution of flapping and ballooning waves in magnetospheric plasma sheet
By adopting Lembége & Pellat’s 2D plasma-sheet model, we investigate the flankward flapping motion and Sunward ballooning propagation driven by an external source (e.g., magnetic reconnection) produced initially at the sheet center. Within the ideal MHD framework, we adopt the WKB approximation to obtain the Taylor–Goldstein equation of magnetic perturbations. Fourier spectral method and Runge–Kutta method are employed in numerical simulations, respectively, under the flapping and ballooning conditions. Studies expose that the magnetic shears in the sheet are responsible for the flapping waves, while the magnetic curvature and the plasma gradient are responsible for the ballooning waves. In addition, the flapping motion has three phases in its temporal development: fast damping phase, slow recovery phase, and quasi-stabilized phase; it is also characterized by two patterns in space: propagating wave pattern and standing wave pattern. Moreover, the ballooning modes are gradually damped toward the Earth, with a wavelength in a scale size of magnetic curvature or plasma inhomogeneity, only 1–7% of the flapping one; the envelops of the ballooning waves are similar to that of the observed bursty bulk flows moving toward the Earth.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Adiabatic Heating of Electrons in the Magnetospheric Current Sheet
Electron dynamics and acceleration in an electromagnetic field configuration modeling the current sheet configuration of the Earth’s magnetotail region is investigated. A focus is made on the role of the dawn−dusk magnetic field component B{sub y} in the convection electron heating by an electric field E{sub y}. For numerical integration of a large number of test particle trajectories over long time intervals, the equations of motion written in the guiding center approximation are used. It is shown that the presence of a B{sub y} ≠ 0 magnetic field significantly changes the electron heating and allows electrons with small pitch angles to gain energy much more efficiently than the equatorial electrons. As a result, the convection heating in the current sheet with B{sub y} ≠ 0 leads to the formation of an accelerated anisotropic population of particles with energies higher than a few hundred electronvolts. The obtained results and spacecraft observations in the Earth’s magnetotail are compared, and possible limitations in the proposed model approaches are discussed.
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
Electron inertial effects on linearly polarized electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves at Earth's magnetosphere
We discuss a role of the electron inertial effect on linearly polarized electromagnetic ioncyclotron (EMIC) waves at Earth. The linearly polarized EMIC waves have been previouslysuggested to be generated via mode conversion from the fast compressional wave at the ion-ionhybrid (IIH) resonance. When the electron inertial effects are neglected, the wave normal angleof the mode-converted IIH waves is 90 degrees because the wavevector perpendicular to themagnetic field becomes infinite at the IIH resonance. When the electron inertial effect isconsidered, the mode-converted IIH waves can propagate across the magnetic field lines and thewavelength perpendicular to the magnetic field approaches the electron inertial length scale nearthe Buchsbaum resonance. These waves are referred to as electron inertial waves. Due to theelectron inertial effect, the perpendicular wavenumber to the ambient magnetic field near theIIH resonance remains finite and the wave normal angle is less than 90 degrees. The wave normalangle where the maximum absorption occurs in a dipole magnetic field is 30-80 degrees, whichis consistent with the observed values near the magnetic equator. Therefore, the numericalresults suggest that the linearly polarized EMIC wave generated via mode conversion near theIIH resonance can be detected in between the Buchsbaum and the IIH resonance frequencies,and these waves can have normal angle less than 90 degrees.
Kim, Eun-Hwa↗
Inferring Magnetospheric Heavy Ion Density using EMIC Waves
We present a method to infer heavy ion concentration ratios from EMIC wave observations that result from ion-ion hybrid (IIH) resonance. A key feature of the ion-ion hybrid resonance is the concentration of wave energy in a field-aligned resonant mode that exhibits linear polarization. This mode converted wave is localized at the location where the frequency of a compressional wave driver matches the IIH resonance condition, which depends sensitively on the heavy ion concentration. This dependence makes it possible to estimate the heavy ion concentration ratio. In this letter, we evaluate the absorption coefficients at the IIH resonance at Earth's geosynchronous orbit for variable concentrations of He + and field-aligned wave numbers using a dipole magnetic field. Although wave absorption occurs for a wide range of heavy ion concentrations, it only occurs for a limited range of field-aligned wave numbers such that the IIH resonance frequency is close to, but not exactly the same as the crossover frequency. Using the wave absorption and observed EMIC waves from GOES-12 satellite, we demonstrate how this technique can be used to estimate that the He + concentration is around 4% near L = 6.6.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗