A Multi-Instrument Study of a Dipolarization Event in the Inner MagnetosphereShow others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics, ISSN 2169-9380, E-ISSN 2169-9402, Vol. 126, no 5, article id e2021JA029294Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
A dipolarization of the background magnetic field was observed during a conjunction of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft and Van Allen Probe B on September 22, 2018. The spacecraft were located in the inner magnetosphere at L similar to 6-7 just before midnight magnetic local time (MLT). The radial separation between MMS and Probe B was similar to 1R(E). Gradual dipolarization or an increase of the northward component B-Z of the background field occurred on a timescale of minutes. Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace located 0.5 MLT eastward at a similar L shell also measured a gradual increase. The spatial scale was of the order of 1 R-E. On top of that, MMS and Probe B measured B-Z increases, and a decrease in one case, on a timescale of seconds, accompanied by large electric fields with amplitudes > several tens of mV/m. Spatial scale lengths were of the order of the ion inertial length and the ion gyroradius. The inertial term in the momentum equation and the Hall term in the generalized Ohm's law were sometimes non-negligible. These small-scale variations are discussed in terms of the ballooning/interchange instability and kinetic Alfven waves among others. It is inferred that physics of multiple scales was involved in the dynamics of this dipolarization event.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Geophysical Union (AGU) , 2021. Vol. 126, no 5, article id e2021JA029294
Keywords [en]
dipolarization, inner magnetosphere, multiple scale dynamics
National Category
Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-297750DOI: 10.1029/2021JA029294ISI: 000657463000010Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85107055753OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-297750DiVA, id: diva2:1571304
Note
QC 20210622
2021-06-222021-06-222022-06-25Bibliographically approved