Acceleration mechanisms for energetic particles in the earth's magnetosphereBy analyzing data on energetic particle fluxes measured simultaneously with detector systems on several earth satellites, signatures of different acceleration mechanisms for these particles were searched for. One of the samples is an event observed on ATS-6 and IMP-7. IMP-7 was in the dusk quarter at 38 earth radii while ATS-6 was located at local midnight at a distance of 6.6 earth radii. Although the flux variations as observed on the two spacecraft both showed 1.5 min periodicity, there was a 40-second time lag with IMP-7 behind. The results indicate that the particles are accelerated by magnetic field line annihilation, with the x-point located at about 10 earth radii.
Document ID
19820046941
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Schiferl, S. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Fan, C. Y. (Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Hsieh, K. C. (Arizona, University Tucson, AZ, United States)
Erickson, K. N. (Minnesota, University Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Gloeckler, G. (Max-Planck-Institut fuer extraterrestrische Physik Garching, Germany)