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A scenario for solar wind penetration of earth's magnetic tail based on ion composition data from the ISEE 1 spacecraftBased on He(2+) and H(-) ion composition data from the Plasma Composition Experiment on ISEE 1, a scenario is proposed for the solar wind penetration of the earth's magnetic tail, which does not require that the solar wind plasma be magnetized. While this study does not take issue with the notion that earth's magnetic field merges with the solar wind magnetic field on a regular basis, it focuses on certain aspects of interaction between the solar wind particles and the earth's field, e.g, the fact that the geomagnetic tail always has a plasma sheet, even during times when the physical signs of magnetic merging are weak or absent. It is argued that the solar plasma enters along slots between the tail lobes and the plasma sheet, even quite close to earth, convected inward along the plasma sheet boundary layer or adjacent to it, by the electric fringe field of the ever present low-latitude magnetopause boundary layer (LLBL). The required E x B drifts are produced by closing LLBL equipotential surfaces through the plasma sheet.
Document ID
19930036990
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Lennartsson, W.
(Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., Inc. Palo Alto, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
December 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 97
Issue: A12
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
93A20987
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-31209
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-33047
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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