NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
THEMIS Observations of the Magnetopause Electron Diffusion Region: Large Amplitude Waves and Heated ElectronsWe present the first observations of large amplitude waves in a well-defined electron diffusion region based on the criteria described by Scudder et al at the subsolar magnetopause using data from one Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) satellite. These waves identified as whistler mode waves, electrostatic solitary waves, lower hybrid waves, and electrostatic electron cyclotron waves, are observed in the same 12 s waveform capture and in association with signatures of active magnetic reconnection. The large amplitude waves in the electron diffusion region are coincident with abrupt increases in electron parallel temperature suggesting strong wave heating. The whistler mode waves, which are at the electron scale and which enable us to probe electron dynamics in the diffusion region were analyzed in detail. The energetic electrons (approx. 30 keV) within the electron diffusion region have anisotropic distributions with T(sub e(right angle))/T(sub e(parallel)) > 1 that may provide the free energy for the whistler mode waves. The energetic anisotropic electrons may be produced during the reconnection process. The whistler mode waves propagate away from the center of the "X-line" along magnetic field lines, suggesting that the electron diffusion region is a possible source region of the whistler mode waves.
Document ID
20140009148
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Tang, Xiangwei
(Minnesota Univ. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Cattell, Cynthia
(Minnesota Univ. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Dombeck, John
(Minnesota Univ. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Dai, Lei
(Minnesota Univ. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Wilson, Lynn B. III
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Breneman, Aaron
(Minnesota Univ. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Hupack, Adam
(Minnesota Univ. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Date Acquired
July 14, 2014
Publication Date
June 28, 2013
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher: AGU
Volume: 40
Issue: 12
ISSN: 1944-8007
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN10607
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX08AF28G
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX13AE16G
CONTRACT_GRANT: DLR 50 OC 0302
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-02099
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
magnetopause and boundary layers
Plasma energization
Magnetic reconnection
No Preview Available