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Transient, Small-Scale Field-Aligned Currents in the Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer During Storm Time SubstormsWe 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 earth ward 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.
Document ID
20170003265
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Nakamura, R.
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Sergeev, V. A.
(Saint Petersburg State Univ. Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation)
Baumjohann, W.
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Plaschke, F.
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Magnes, W.
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Fischer, D.
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Varsani, A.
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Schmid, D.
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Nakamura, T. K. M.
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Russell, C. T.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Strangeway, R. J.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Leinweber, H. K.
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Le, G.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Bromund, K. R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Pollock, C. J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Giles, B. L.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Dorelli, J. C.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Gershman, D. J.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Paterson, W.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Avanov, L. A.
(Maryland Univ. College Park, MD, United States)
Fuselier, S. A.
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX, United States)
Genestreti, K.
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX, United States)
Burch, J. L.
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX, United States)
Torbert, R. B.
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX, United States)
Chutter, M.
(New Hampshire Univ. Durham, NH, United States)
Argall, M. R.
(New Hampshire Univ. Durham, NH, United States)
Anderson, B. J.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Lindqvist, P.-A.
(Royal Inst. of Tech. Stockholm, Sweden)
Marklund, G. T.
(Royal Inst. of Tech. Stockholm, Sweden)
Khotyaintsev, Y. V.
(Swedish Inst. of Space Physics Uppsala, Sweden)
Mauk, B. H.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Cohen, I. J.
(Johns Hopkins Univ. Laurel, MD, United States)
Baker, D. N.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Jaynes, A. N.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Ergun, R. E.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Kepko, E. L.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Moore, T. E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Coffey, V.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
April 7, 2017
Publication Date
May 30, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 43
Issue: 10
ISSN: 0094-8276
e-ISSN: 1944-8007
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN41203
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF-ATM-0739864
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF-ATM-1420184
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG11PL02A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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