Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “magnetotail”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Fractal boundaries in magnetotail particle dynamics

It has been recently established that particle dynamics in the magnetotail geometry can be described as a nonintegrable Hamiltonian system with well-defined entry and exit regions through which stochastic orbits can enter and exit the system after repeatedly crossing the equatorial plane. It is shown that the phase space regions occupied by orbits of different numbers of equatorial crossings or different exit modes are separated by fractal boundaries. The fractal boundaries in an entry region for stochastic orbits are examined and the capacity dimension is determined.

Chen, J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Ultra-low-frequency wave power in the magnetotail lobes. I - Relation to substorm onsets and the auroral electrojet index

Time-series observations of the magnetotail-lobe magnetic field have been Fourier analyzed to compute the frequency-weighted energy density Pfz in the range 1-30 mHz. Pfz is generally observed in the range 0.0001-0.01 gamma-squared Hz with a mean value of 0.0012 during substorm growth phases and 0.001 in the comparison intervals. No strong correlation of Pfz is found with the auroral electrojet index in either set of intervals, but during substorm growth phases Pfz may vary by an order of magnitude over time scales of 30 min, with a tendency for higher power levels to occur later in the growth phase. Increases in Pfz precede by about 10 min localized expansive phase activity observed in individual magnetograms.

Smith, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Plasma sheet convection and the stability of the magnetotail

Particle simulations are used to investigate the effects of plasma sheet convection into regions of increasing tail lobe magnetic field strength on the stability of a magnetotail equilibrium. The self-consistent treatment of convection first drives B(z) to zero on axis in the region of the strongest lobe field B(x) and then causes the equilibrium to break due to the rapid growth of tearing modes driven by the induced temperature anisotropy. The net result is the evolution of the inward-convecting plasma sheet into a slowly moving or stagnant plasmoid. The time scale for this process is much more rapid than that associated with particle drift losses across the tail. These results support the suggestion that steady convection within the plasma sheet may not be possible.

Pritchett, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Observational signatures of nonlinear magnetotail particle dynamics

It has been predicted that the nonlinear particle dynamics in the magnetotail leads to a class of resonance structures in the quiet-time ion distribution functions in the central plasma sheet (CPS). These structures exhibit a scaling law of H to the 1/4 power. The first identification of such a scaling law in quiet-time CPS distribution functions obtained aboard ISEE 1 is reported. A method is proposed which uses the observed resonance structures to determine the quiet-time current sheet thickness based on a measurement of the distribution function and magnetic field obtained by one satellite.

Chen, James↗
NASA NTRS1991

The substorm current wedge and field-aligned currents in MHD simulations of magnetotail reconnection

Results are reported from a three-dimensional MHD simulation of magnetotail reconnection, which, in contrast to earlier ones, starts from an equilibrium configuration that contains a region 1 type field-aligned current system at the plasma sheet/lobe boundary. This current system is found from equilibrium theory as the consequence of boundary conditions, which require that field lines at large distances from the earth become aligned-with the tail axis, consistent with observations and the expected consequences of the interaction with the solar wind. As in earlier simulations, the dynamic evolution develops from a slow diffusion to the fast growth of a three-dimensional tearing mode, initiated by the sudden occurrence or increase of resistivity, leading again to the formation and subsequent tailward ejection of a plasmoid, associated with fast plasma flows. In addition there are changes of the electric current system which are consistent with the substorm current wedge picture inferred from observations.

Birn, J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Collisionless reconnection in two-dimensional magnetotail equilibria

A two-dimensional particle simulation model based on the Darwin approximation to Maxwell's equations for studying collisionless reconnection in the magnetotail has been developed. Simulations of the pure ion tearing mode in a thin current sheet with normal B(z) field component demonstrate that in this limit this mode grows more slowly than expected based on previous analytic estimates. The saturation level of the tearing instability greatly surpasses estimates based on a simple trapping argument. The effect of the normal field component on the evolution of the tearing instability is considered. It is found that a normal field of even a few percent on axis strongly inhibits the growth of the instability.

Pritchett, P. L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Effects of collisions on the nonlinear particle dynamics in the magnetotail

The effects of collisional processes on the nonlinear particle dynamics in the magnetotail are considered.A simple collision operator is developed to model the effects of pitch-angle and energy scattering. It is found that the phase space partition persists for up to moderate scattering amplitudes in pitch-angle and energy, and that certain distribution function features are robust even in the presence of large amplitude collisions. It is shown that if the collisions are due to short scale length electrostatic fields, excessively large field amplitudes are required to signifiantly alter the phase space structures and the resulting distribution function features.

Holland, Daniel L.↗
NASA NTRS1991

The boundary value problem of magnetotail equilibrium

The earth magnetotail equilibrium problem is examined by expressing it as a 2D boundary value problem for a prescribed tail boundary, which may be considered as an idealized magnetopause. A general solution of this problem is derived for the 2D case, where the dependence on the y coordinate and the presence of By are neglected. These solutions are further generalized by including the y dependence and an open magnetosphere. Then, a general solution of a 3D boundary problem is derived.

Birn, Joachim↗
NASA NTRS1990

The magnetic topology of the plasmoid flux rope in a MHD-simulation of magnetotail reconnection

On the basis of a 3D MHD simulation, the magnetic topology of a plasmoid that forms by a localized reconnection process in a magnetotail configuration (including a net dawn-dusk magnetic field component B sub y N is discussed. As a consequence of B sub y N not equalling 0, the plasmoid assumes a helical flux rope structure rather than an isolated island or bubble structure. Initially all field lines of the plasmoid flux rope remain connected with the earth, while at later times a gradually increasing amount of flux tubes becomes separated, connecting to either the distant boundary or to the flank boundaries. In this stage, topologically different flux tubes become tangled and wrapped around each other, consistent with predictions on the basis of an ad hoc plasmoid model.

Birn, J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Parallel electric fields in a simulation of magnetotail reconnection and plasmoid evolution

Properties of the electric field component parallel to the magnetic field are investigate in a 3D MHD simulation of plasmoid formation and evolution in the magnetotail, in the presence of a net dawn-dusk magnetic field component. The spatial localization of E-parallel, and the concept of a diffusion zone and the role of E-parallel in accelerating electrons are discussed. A localization of the region of enhanced E-parallel in all space directions is found, with a strong concentration in the z direction. This region is identified as the diffusion zone, which plays a crucial role in reconnection theory through the local break-down of magnetic flux conservation.

Hesse, M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Chaotic scattering of pitch angles in the current sheet of the magnetotail

The modified Harris field model is used to investigate the process of pitch angle scattering by a current sheet. The relationship between the incoming asymptotic pitch angle alpha(in) and the outgoing asymptotic pitch angle alpha(out) is studied from first principles by numerically integrating the equation of motion. Evidence that charged particles undergo chaotic scattering by the current sheet is found. For fixed alpha(in), it is shown that alpha(out) exhibits sensitive dependence on the energy parameter in certain energy ranges. For a fixed energy parameter value in the same energy ranges, alpha(out) sensitively depends on alpha(in). For other energy values, alpha(out) does not show sensitive dependence on alpha(in) for most phase angles. A distribution of alpha(in) is mapped from the asymptotic region to the midplane, and it is found that the resulting particle distribution should have beam structures with well-collimated pitch angles near each resonance energy value. Implications for the particle distribution functions in the earth's magnetotail are discussed.

Burkhart, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

On chaotic conductivity in the magnetotail

The concept of chaotic conductivity and the acceleration of particles due to a constant dawn dusk electric field are studied in a magnetotail-like magnetic field. A test particle simulation is used including the full nonlinear dynamics. It is found that the acceleration process can be understood without invoking chaos and that the cross tail current is determined by the particle dynamics and distributions. It is concluded that in general there is no simple relationship between the electric field and the current.

Holland, Daniel L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A particle model for magnetotail neutral sheet equilibria

A particle model of the magnetotail neutral sheet self-consistent structure was developed by assuming that the thickness of the neutral sheet is much less than the thickness of the plasma sheet. This made it possible to approximate the neutral sheet as an x-independent structure. The role of nonlinear particle motions in determining the conductivity and the global current sheet structure is investigated.

Burkhart, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The formation of the wall region - Consequences in the near earth magnetotail

This paper discusses important new findings obtained from global kinetic simulations of magnetotail plasma. A region of strongly nonadiabatic ion acceleration (known as the wall region) exists in the near earth tail and demarcates two very different regimes of ion motion: adiabatic and quasi-adiabatic. A strong enhancement of the cross-tail current occurs on the tailward side of the wall. A comparison of numerical and adiabatic pressure profiles indicates that nonadiabatic processes operating in this region may contribute significantly to a pressure balance relief in the course of quasi-steady magnetospheric convection.

Ashour-Abdalla, Maha↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ion tearing in a magnetotail configuration with an embedded thin current sheet

The ion tearing instability is investigated in a magnetotail configuration that consists of a diffuse plasma sheet current and an embedded, thin current sheet with a strong current. For historical reasons, the thin embedded current sheet will be called a 'neutral sheet', even though the normal component of the magnetic field, Bn, is nonzero. In particular, we assume that the current within the thin current sheet is due to the acceleration of 'Speiserlike' ion trajectories by a cross-tail electric field Ey. It is found that the strong current within the neutral sheet is essentially unimportant to the growth rate of the tearing instability, and that the growth rate scales as (lambda(0)/Lz) squared, where Lz is the overall half thickness of the plasma sheet and lambda (0) is the ion inertial length. In the absence of the current outside the neutral sheet, current filamentation is stable.

Burkhart, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Is the earth's magnetotail balloon unstable?

In the past, the onset of magnetospheric substorms has been attributed to the plasma tearing mode instabilities. This paper investigates the ideal MHD ballooning instability of the near-and middle-tail magnetosphere region, as a first step toward determining whether it could trigger the tearing mode, by using the energy principle to investigate whether standard 2D tail models with the 'hard' ionospheric boundary condition are unstable to ballooning instability. Numerical results are presented for compressible ballooning modes that are symmetric about the center of the current sheet. It is shown that, for such a hard boundary condition, no reasonable magnetotail configuration exists that would be unstable to compressible symmetric ballooning but stable against interchange.

Lee, D.-Y.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Energy storage and dissipation in the magnetotail during substorms. I - Particle simulations. II - MHD simulations

2D electromagnetic particle simulations are used to investigate the dynamics of the tail during development of substorms under the influence of the pressure in the magnetospheric boundary layer and the dawn-to-dusk electric field. It is shown that pressure pulses result in thinning of the tail current sheet as the magnetic field becomes pinched near the region where the pressure pulse is applied. The pinching leads to the tailward flow of the current sheet plasma and the eventual formation and injection of a plasmoid. Surges in the dawn-to-dusk electric field cause plasma on the flanks to convect into the center of the current sheet, thereby thinning the current sheet. The pressure in the magnetospheric boundary laser is coupled to the dawn-to-dusk electric field through the conductivity of the tail. Changes in the predicted evolution of the magnetosphere during substorms due to changes in the resistivity are investigated under the assumption that MHD theory provides a suitable representation of the global or large-scale evolution of the magnetotail to changes in the solar wind and to reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. It is shown that the overall evolution of the magnetosphere is about the same for three different resistivity distributions with plasmoid formation and ejection in each case.

Winglee, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mapping and energization in the magnetotail. I - Magnetospheric boundaries

The definition and mapping of the principal observed magnetospheric boundaries between the ionospheric and the equatorial plane are considered. All field tracing is done using the Tsyganenko (1989) or T89 magnetospheric model. Some of the model limitations are described. Particular attention is given to a search for signatures of the magnetotail subregions that may be observable by low- or middle-altitude satellites.

Kaufmann, Richard L.↗