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Low-energy particle layer outside of the plasma sheet boundaryThe ISEE spacecraft in the geomagnetic tail frequently crossed the high-latitude boundary of the plasma sheet. On a number of these crossings on the morningside (between 15 RE and 22 RE) the ISEE instruments detected an enhanced population of low-energy electrons and ions immediately adjacent to the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL). The electrons in this low-energy layer (LEL) have energies less than a few hundred eV, and they are aligned along the magnetic field direction propagating in the tailward direction. The ions have energies less than 100 eV and are also streaming along the magnetic field direction but in the earthward direction. These particles are clearly distinguished from the bulk of the particles in the plasma sheet and the PSBL. These observations may help clarify where the various particle features in the geomagnetic tail map to in the ionosphere. It is suggested that the LEL maps to the soft (less than 1 keV) electron precipitation region poleward of the plasma sheet boundary.
Document ID
19920045462
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Parks, G. K.
(Washington, University Seattle, United States)
Fitzenreiter, R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Ogilvie, K. W.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Huang, C.
(Iowa, University Iowa City, United States)
Anderson, K. A.
(California, University Berkeley, United States)
Dandouras, J.
(Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements Toulouse, France)
Frank, L.
(Iowa, University Iowa City, United States)
Lin, R. P.
(California, University Berkeley, United States)
Mccarthy, M.
(Washington, University Seattle, United States)
Reme, H.
(Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements Toulouse, France)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 97
Issue: A3, M
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
92A28086
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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