Transient, small-scale field-aligned currents in the plasma sheet boundary layer during storm time substorms

We report on field-aligned current observations by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft near the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) during two major substorms on 23 June 2015. Small-scale field-aligned currents were found embedded in fluctuating PSBL flux tubes near the separatrix reg...

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Veröffentlicht in:Geophysical research letters. - 1984. - 43(2016), 10 vom: 28. Mai, Seite 4841-4849
1. Verfasser: Nakamura, R (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Sergeev, V A, Baumjohann, W, Plaschke, F, Magnes, W, Fischer, D, Varsani, A, Schmid, D, Nakamura, T K M, Russell, C T, Strangeway, R J, Leinweber, H K, Le, G, Bromund, K R, Pollock, C J, Giles, B L, Dorelli, J C, Gershman, D J, Paterson, W, Avanov, L A, Fuselier, S A, Genestreti, K, Burch, J L, Torbert, R B, Chutter, M, Argall, M R, Anderson, B J, Lindqvist, P-A, Marklund, G T, Khotyaintsev, Y V, Mauk, B H, Cohen, I J, Baker, D N, Jaynes, A N, Ergun, R E, Singer, H J, Slavin, J A, Kepko, E L, Moore, T E, Lavraud, B, Coffey, V, Saito, Y
Format: Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2016
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Geophysical research letters
Schlagworte:Journal Article MMS PSBL electron beam field‐aligned currents
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:We report on field-aligned current observations by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft near the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) during two major substorms on 23 June 2015. Small-scale field-aligned currents were found embedded in fluctuating PSBL flux tubes near the separatrix region. We resolve, for the first time, short-lived earthward (downward) intense field-aligned current sheets with thicknesses of a few tens of kilometers, which are well below the ion scale, on flux tubes moving equatorward/earthward during outward plasma sheet expansion. They coincide with upward field-aligned electron beams with energies of a few hundred eV. These electrons are most likely due to acceleration associated with a reconnection jet or high-energy ion beam-produced disturbances. The observations highlight coupling of multiscale processes in PSBL as a consequence of magnetotail reconnection
Beschreibung:Date Revised 12.02.2021
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE
ISSN:0094-8276