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MMS Multipoint Electric Field Observations of Small-Scale Magnetic HolesSmall-scale magnetic holes (MHs), local depletions in magnetic field strength, have been observed multiple times in the Earths magnetosphere in the bursty bulk flow (BBF) braking region. This particular subset of MHs has observed scale sizes perpendicular to the background magnetic field (B) less than the ambient ion Larmor radius (p(sib i)). Previous observations by Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) indicate that this subset of MHs can be supported by a current driven by the E x B drift of electrons. Ions do not participate in the E x B drift due to the small-scale size of the electric field. While in the BBF braking region, during its commissioning phase, the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft observed a small-scale MH. The electric field observations taken during this event suggest the presence of electron currents perpendicular to the magnetic field. These observations also suggest that these currents can evolve to smaller spatial scales.
Document ID
20170003582
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Goodrich, Katherine A.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Ergun, Robert E.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Wilder, Frederick
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Burch, James
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX, United States)
Torbert, Roy
(New Hampshire Univ. Durham, NH, United States)
Khotyaintsev, Yuri
(Swedish Inst. of Space Physics Uppsala, Sweden)
Lindqvist, Per-Arne
(Royal Inst. of Tech. Stockholm, Sweden)
Russell, Christopher
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Strangeway, Robert
(California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Magnus, Werner
(Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Graz, Austria)
Date Acquired
April 17, 2017
Publication Date
June 20, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 43
Issue: 12
ISSN: 0094-8276
e-ISSN: 1944-8007
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN40970
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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