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At least 829 records · Page 46

Transport of ions in presence of induced electric field and electrostatic turbulence - Source of ions injected into ring current

The transport of ions from the polar ionosphere to the inner magnetosphere during stormtime conditions has been computed using a Monte Carlo diffusion code. The effect of the electrostatic turbulence assumed to be present during the substorm expansion phase was simulated by a process that accelerated the ions stochastically perpendicular to the magnetic field with a diffusion coefficient proportional to the energization rate of the ions by the induced electric field. This diffusion process was continued as the ions were convected from the plasma sheet boundary layer to the double-spiral injection boundary. Inward of the injection boundary, the ions were convected adiabatically. By using as input an O(+) flux of 2.8 x 10 to the 8th per sq cm per s (w greater than 10 eV) and an H(+) flux of 5.5 x 10 to the 8th per sq cm per s (w greater than 0.63 eV), the computed distribution functions of the ions in the ring current were found to be in good agreement, over a wide range in L (4 to 8), with measurements made with the ISEE-1 satellite during a storm. This O(+) flux and a large part of the H(+) flux are consistent with the DE satellite measurements of the polar ionospheric outflow during disturbed times.

Cladis, J. B.↗

Reconnection at the earth's magnetopause - Magnetic field observations and flux transfer events

Theoretical models of plasma acceleration by magnetic-field-line reconnection at the earth magnetopause and the high-resolution three-dimensional plasma measurements obtained with the ISEE satellites are compared and illustrated with diagrams, graphs, drawings, and histograms. The history of reconnection theory and the results of early satellite observations are summarized; the thickness of the magnetopause current layer is discussed; problems in analyzing the polarization of current-layer rotation are considered; and the flux-transfer events responsible for periods of patchy reconnection are characterized in detail. The need for further observations and refinements of the theory to explain the initiation of reconnection and identify the mechanism determining whether it is patchy or steady-state is indicated.

Russell, C. T.↗

Recent investigations of flux transfer events observed at the dayside magnetopause

The results of the survey of dayside flux-transfer events (FTEs) of Rijnbeek et al. (1984) are summarized. FTEs are a common feature of the dayside magnetopause covered by the ISEE 1 and 2 spacecraft. They occur essentially whenever the magnetosheath magnetic field has a southward component. The properties of FTEs observed in the magnetosheath and in the magnetosphere are similar. FTEs contribute significantly to the flux erosion process at the dayside boundary when the external field has a southward component. Intervals of quasi-steady reconnection occur in close association with observations of FTE signatures. Finally, some remaining questions relating to FTEs are outlined.

Rijnbeek, R. P.↗

A dual-satellite study of the spatial properties of FTEs

Reconnection at the earth's dayside magnetopause may manifest itself primarily as a localized and transient process called a flux-transfer event (FTE). The spatial properties of FTEs are investigated directly by examining data from the ISEE satellite pair when the satellites were separated by more than 1000 km in the vicinity of the magnetopause. Examples of magnetosheath and boundary layer FTEs, each having a dimension normal to the magnetopause of order an earth radius, R(E), are shown, and this scale-size result is substantiated statistically for magnetosheath FTEs. When combined with other information, a 1-R(E) normal dimension implies that the voltage associated with the FTE process at one magnetopause location is at least 10 kV. These findings strengthen the view that the magnetic field comprising an FTE is twisted, this twisting appearing to be continuous in sense across the magnetopause and corresponding to a core field-aligned current of magnitude a few hundred kA. Changes in plasma flow speed and direction are found to be associated with FTEs. The transverse field and flow perturbations accompanying the three magnetosheath FTEs studied here satisfy approximately the Walen relation, the relation which describes a propagating Alfven wave.

Saunders, M. A.↗

Substorm electric fields in the earth's magnetotail

A survey has been made of all the electric field data from the University of California, Berkeley, double probe experiment on ISEE-1 (apogee approximately 22 earth radii) during 1980 when the satellite was in the magnetotail. This study was restricted to the 74 events where E cross B flows could be calculated and were equal to or greater than 100 km/s. Substorm times were determined by examining the Ae index for peaks equal to or greater than 250 gamma. In association with substorms, approximately 70 percent of the flows were earthward, and approximately 20 percent had a signature called 'near satellite reconnection' (first described by Nishida et al. (1983) of tailward flow followed by earthward flow which can be interpreted in terms of a model where the x-line forms earthward of the satellite and subsequently propagates tailward of X(GSM) = -21 earth radii and within the absolute value of Y(GSM) equal to or less than 4.5 earth radii. These data suggest that the near earth x-line usually forms tailward of X(GSM) approximately -20 earth radii.

Cattell, C. A.↗

Patchy reconnection and magnetic ropes in astrophysical plasmas

The formation of flux ropes in the magnetosphere of Venus due to velocity shear is examined in order to infer the properties of flux ropes in the earth magnetosphere. Observational data obtained by the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) spacecraft for the geometry of directed flows in the earth magnetosheath are compared with magnetometer measurements carried out on board Pioneer Venus Orbiter, and the results are discussed in detail. It is shown that the velocity shear is the dominant element shaping the magnetic structure of the magnetosheaths.

Russell, C. T.↗

A remark about pointed bubbles

The polymer expansion is a formal algebraic identity between a partition function and logarithm in statistical physics problems. The expansion gives a systematic method to control the free energy or to establish exponential tree-graph decay of connected correlations. Here, the convergence properties of the polymer expansion are analyzed in connection with three practical examples, including: intersecting bonds in chemical polymer chains; a connected closed hypersurface built from the (d-1)-faces of the d-dimensional unit cubes; and the set of Feynamn diagrams in the perturbation series of the Euclidean field theory partition function Z. The example of connected polymer chains is generalized to apply to other lattice models, including n-state Ising models at high temperature; short range lattice gases at high temperature; and weak coupling lattice field and gauge theories.

Garabedian, P. R.↗

The heavy ion compositional signature in 3He-rich solar particle events

A survey of the approx. 1 MeV/nucleon heavy ion abundances in 66 He3-rich solar particle events was performed using the Max-Planck-Institut/University of Maryland and Goddard Space Flight Center instruments on the ISEE-3 spacecraft. The observations were carried out in interplanetary space over the period 1978 October through 1982 June. Earlier observations were confirmed which show an enrichment of heavy ions in HE3-rich events, relative to the average solar energetic particle composition in large particle events. For the survey near 1.5 MeV/nucleon the enrichments compared to large solar particle events are approximately He4:C:O:Ne:Mg:Si:Fe = 0.44:0.66:1.:3.4:3.5:4.1:9.6. Surprising new results emerging from the present broad survey are that the heavy ion enrichment pattern is the same within a factor of approx. 2 for almost all cases, and the degree of heavy ion enrichment is uncorrelated with the He3 enrichment. Overall, the features established appear to be best explained by an acceleration mechanism in which the He3 enrichment process is not responsible for the heavy ion enrichment, but rather the heavy ion enrichment is a measure of the ambient coronal composition at the sites where the He3-rich events occur.

Mason, G. M.↗

The heating of the thermal plasma with energetic electrons in small solar flares

The energetic electrons deduced from hard X-rays in the thick target model may be responsible for heating of soft X-ray plasma in solar flares. It is shown from OSO-7 studies that if a cutoff of 10 keV is assumed, the total electron is comparable to the thermal plasma energy. However, (1) the soft X-ray emission often appears to begin before the hard X-ray burst, (2) in about one-third of flares there is no detectable hard X-ray emission, and (3) for most events the energy content (assuming constant density) of soft X-ray plasma continues to rise after the end of the hard X-ray burst. To understand these problems we have analyzed the temporal relationship between soft X-rays and hard X-rays for 20 small events observed by ISEE-3 during 1980. One example is shown. The start of soft X-ray and hard X-ray bursts is defined as the time when the counting rates of the 4.8 to 5. keV and 25.8 to 43.2 keV channels, respectively, exceed the background by one standard deviation.

Lin, H. A.↗

Ostwald ripening theory

The Ostwald-ripening theory is deduced and discussed starting from the fundamental principles such as Ising model concept, Mayer cluster expansion, Langer condensation point theory, Ginzburg-Landau free energy, Stillinger cutoff-pair potential, LSW-theory and MLSW-theory. Mathematical intricacies are reduced to an understanding version. Comparison of selected works, from 1949 to 1984, on solution of diffusion equation with and without sink/sources term(s) is presented. Kahlweit's 1980 work and Marqusee-Ross' 1954 work are more emphasized. Odijk and Lekkerkerker's 1985 work on rodlike macromolecules is introduced in order to simulate interested investigators.

Baird, J. K.↗

Ion neutral coupling in the high latitude thermosphere, part 1

Measurements of the neutral wind in the polar F region from Dynamics Explorer-2 (DE-2) were used to illustrate asymmetries in the neutral circulation that are dependent on the sign of the B sub y component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Individual DE-2 orbits and averaged data sets from different Universal times are presented. The data are categorized according to the sign of the hourly averaged IMF B sub y component measured by ISEE-3 for the hour preceding the DE-2 measurement. The major features observed are: (1) an asymmetry in the polar cap neutral flow velocity with the region of most rapid antisunward flow shifting from the dawn side to the dusk side of the polar cap as B sub y changes from positive to negative; (2) a shift in magnetic local time of the region of entry of neutral gas into the polar cap from a location on the dawn side of the noon-midnight meridian for B sub y positive to one more biased towards the dusk side for B sub y negative; (3) an enhancement in the velocities associated with the dawn, anti-clockwise neutral vortex B suby y negative relative to those observed for B sub y positive. The B sub y neutral wind asymmetries can be explained by similar asymmetries, previously observed, in the polar ion convection pattern. They imply a direct causal relationship between solar wind/magnetosphere coupling and neutral thermospheric dynamics.

Killeen, T. L.↗

A simulation study of two major events in the heliosphere during the present sunspot cycle

The two major disturbances in the heliosphere during the present sunspot cycle, the event of June to August, 1982, and the event of April to June, 1978, are simulated by the method developed by Hakamada and Akasofu (1982). Specifically, an attempt was made to simulate the effects of six major flares from three active regions in June and July, 1982, and April and May, 1978. A comparison of the results with the solar wind observations at Pioneer 12 (approximately 0.8 au), ISEE-3 (approximately 1 au), Pioneer 11 (approximately 7 to 13 au) and Pioneer 10 (approximately 16 to 28 au) suggests that some major flares occurred behind the disk of the sun during the two periods. The method provides qualitatively some information as to how such a series of intense solar flares can greatly disturb both the inner and outer heliospheres. A long lasting effect on cosmic rays is discussed in conjunction with the disturbed heliosphere.

Akasofu, S. I.↗

Elemental abundances in corotating events

Large, persistent solar-wind streams in 1973 and 1974 produced corotating interaction regions which accelerated particles to energies of a few MeV/nucleon. The proton to helium ratio (H/He) reported was remarkably constant at a value (22 + or - 5) equal to that in the solar wind (32 + or - 3), suggesting that particles were being accelerated directly out of the solar wind. Preliminary results from a similar study approximately 11 years (i.e., one solar cycle) later are reported. Corotating events were identified by surveying the solar wind data, energetic particle time-histories and anisotropies. This data was all obtained from the ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft. These events also show H/He ratios similar to that in the solar wind. In addition, other corotating events were examined at times when solar flare events could have injected particles into the corresponding corotating interaction regions. It was found that in these cases there is evidence for H/He ratios which are significantly different from that of the solar wind but which are consistent with the range of values found in solar flare events.

Vonrosenvinge, T. T.↗

The International Cometary Explorer (ICE) mission to Comets Giacobini-Zinner and Halley

Use of the ISEE-3 satellite (renamed ICE) to study the interaction between the solar wind and a cometary atmosphere by passing through the plasma tail by intercepting Comet Giacobini-Zinner on 11 September 1985 is described. Details of the targeting strategy are discussed. Additional scientific objectives following the tail intercept of Comet Giacobini-Zinner include the support of Comet Halley studies through the measurement of solar-wind conditions upstream of P/Halley in October 1985 and March 1986.

Brandt, J. C.↗

Investigation of low energy space plasma

A statistical study of 1982 data for occurrences of equatorially trapped plasma has been extended. The previous survey, which utilized only the MSFC summary fiche, has been supplemented with the GSFC summary fiche, which has had the effect of substantially improving the late 1982 coverage. It was found that in the post midnight region (1 - 3 LT), the trapped plasma is limited to + or - 5 degrees magnetic latitude, while in the early afternoon (13-15 LT), latitude ranges as high as + or 30 degrees are found. This survey has provided a link to earlier ATS-6 and ISEE studies of pancake distributions. Although the most energetic, and most anisotopic plasmas are trapped within a few degrees of the equator, the results of these equatorial interactions extend substantially along the magnetic field line in the afternoon and dusk region and these high latitude extensions were previously studied by the Huntsville group. Results of this study were incorporated into a revision of the equatorial ion paper, which has been resubmitted and accepted for publication.

Comfort, R. H.↗

Three-dimensional plasma observations near the outer magnetospheric boundary

The present study is concerned with an evaluation of some of the plasma and field processes by which the magnetospheric boundary layer acts as a magnetohydrodynamic (HD) dynamo. An analysis is conducted of 18 crossings of the dayside magnetopause and boundary layer, taking into account data provided by the quadrispherical electrostatic analyzers (Lepedea) of the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) spacecraft. These instruments sample ion and electron velocity distributions in three dimensions. Attenion is given to aspects of data presentation, magnetopause identification, details regarding the magnetopause crossings, cross-field plasma flow, comparisons of magnetosheath and boundary layer plasma flow, and six conclusions.

Eastman, T. E.↗

The boundary layers as the primary transport regions of the earth's magnetotail

A comprehensive survey of ISEE and IMP LEPEDEA plasma measurements in the earth's magnetotail reveals that the magnetospheric boundary layer and the plasma sheet boundary layer are the primary transport regions there. These plasma measurements also reveal various components of the plasma sheet, including the central plasma sheet and plasma sheet boundary layer. A significant new result reported here is that of cold- and hot-plasma components that are spatially co-present within the central plasma sheet. Such plasma components cannot be explained merely by temporal variations in spectra involving the entire plasma sheet. Contributions to a low temperature component of the plasma sheet enter directly from the boundary layer located along the magnetotail flanks. Field-aligned flows predominate within the plasma sheet boundary layer which is almost always present and is located near the high- and low-latitude border of the plasma sheet. The plasma sheet boundary layer comprises highly anisotropic ion distributions, including counter-streaming ion beams, that evolve into the hot, isotropic component of the plasma sheet. Tailward acceleration regions generate these ion beams with plasma input from the magnetospheric boundary layer. Antisunward-flowing ion beams, at E/q less than 1 kV and of ionospheric composition, are frequently observed in the plasma sheet boundary layer and in tail lobes. These ion beams are likely accelerated at low altitude over the polar cap and especially along auroral field lines.

Eastman, T. E.↗

Magnetic field properties of the distant magnetotail magnetopause and boundary layer

Models incorporating merging between dayside magnetosheath and magnetosphere field lines predict the location of the magnetotail boundary layer and bending of magnetotail field lines in the direction of the IMF. Previous observations supporting these models are reviewed, and a case of dense magnetotail boundary layer plasma and strongly bent field lines observed by ISEE 3 is examined. Observations of boundary layer plasma within a tangential discontinuity magnetopause are discussed. The model to explain this phenomenon requires that interconnected magnetotail and magnetosheath field lines leave the magnetotail via a narrow 'window'. Field lines in the dense boundary layer plasma veer away from the aberrated x axis more than those in the void magnetotail lobes in order to pass through the windows. Magnetosheath plasma must enter the magnetotail lobes through the windows at all downstream distances in order to supply he observed tailward flux of lobe plasma.

Sibeck, D. G.↗