Kappa distribution functions and the main properties of auroral particle acceleration

The problem of auroral particle acceleration is analyzed taking into account the filling of the magnetosphere by accelerated particles of ionospheric origin and the trapping of particles between the magnetic and electrostatic barriers. It is taken into account that kappa distributions describe experimentally measured distribution functions better than do maxwellians. The existence of conjugate field-aligned potential drops in the north and south hemispheres is suggested. Field-aligned potential drops are formed if the value of field-aligned current is higher than the threshold determined by the free gazodynamic flow of electrons along field lines. Results of experimental observations showing the possibility of field-aligned potential drop concentration in double layers are summarized. The theory of kinetic double layers is developed taking into account the nonmaxwellian forms of distribution functions. It is shown that the kinetic treatment and the existence of nonmaxwellian distributions lead to real changes in the criteria required for double-layer formation.     

Large scientific releases

Mass-injection experiments in space plasmas have been conducted for the last twenty years. These injections trace or stain chemical or physical processes, facilitating diagnosis of the natural state of the space plasma; artificially perturb the space plasma away from equilibrium, isolating and controlling selected parameters; simulate natural or artificial states of space plasmas; and utilize the advantages of space as a laboratory to study fundamental plasma physics.We use the Lagopedo ionospheric-depletion experiments to illustrate the special operational aspects of active experiments, including weather, logistics, communications, and real-time diagnostics. The various objectives and techniques of mass-injection experiments are described by example. The CAMEO experiment, a thermite barium release from a satellite over the nightside polar cap, is an excellent example of the use of barium injections to trace upward ion acceleration. The Periquito Dos experiment provided a “snapshot” view of convection electric fields in the dayside polar cusp region. Project Waterhole, an artificial depletion of the topside auroral ionosphere, attempted to modify the equilibrium character of the field-aligned currents and apparently shut off the aurora in a small space-time volume. The Trigger experiment is another example of an active perturbation experiment, wherein the auroral ionospheric transverse conductivities were modified via a cesium injection. The Buaro experiment, a shaped-charged barium injection perpendicular to the local geomagnetic field, resulted in an ion-beam/background-plasma system being displaced from equilibrium, permitting diagnostics of collisionless coupling of the ion beam to the background plasma.     

Controlling factors of Region 2 field-aligned current and its relationship to the ring current: Model results

One essential component of magnetosphere and ionosphere coupling is the closure of the ring current through Region 2 field-aligned current (FAC). Using the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM), which includes magnetosphere and ionosphere coupling by solving the kinetic equation of ring current particles and the closure of the electric currents between the two regions, we have investigated the effects of high latitude potential, ionospheric conductivity, plasma sheet density and different magnetic field models on the development of Region 2 field-aligned currents, and the relationship between R2 FACs and the ring current. It is shown that an increase in high latitude potential, ionospheric conductivity or plasma sheet density generally results in an increase in Region 2 FACs’ intensity, but R2 FACs display different local time and latitudinal distributions for changes in each parameter due to the different mechanisms involved. Our simulation results show that the magnetic field configuration of the inner magnetosphere is also an important factor in the development of Region 2 field-aligned current. More numerical experiments and observational results are needed in further our understanding of the complex relationship of the two current systems.     

磁尾瓣区的场向电流

本文利用ISEE-2卫星的磁场和粒子资料(电子:75keVδ<1300keV,质子:170keVp<400keV),发现在磁尾远离等离子片的尾瓣区,常常同时探测到粒子脉冲和横向磁场扰动,表明有场向电流片存在。电流片的积分强度在3.3—21mA/m之间,与Frank等在磁尾等离子片边界上测量到的场向片电流积分强度可相比较。电流片总是成双成对,电流片的强度与AE指数或亚暴的关系密切。和磁层其他区域不同,在磁尾瓣区,经常探测到△B_x和△B_y同时存在,且△B_x和△B_y可相比拟的情形,它们可以用运动的线电流或不均匀密度的电流片来解释。      

Mercury’s Birkeland current system

A consideration is given to the generation of field-aligned currents under different solar wind conditions. The preliminary results from a set of resistive MHD calculations indicate that the field-aligned current system could be significantly changed by the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field. For most of the cases studied, the total current is less than or on the order of 10⁵ A. Even though this current is at least a factor of 10 smaller than its counter part at Earth, it might still produce some important dynamical effects with interesting consequence on the sporadic behavior of Mercury’s atomic sodium emission.     

磁暴期间甚低纬哨声的导管传播

对磁暴期间甚低纬哨声导管传播的机理进行了初步的讨论，根据暴时低纬哨声的特点，认为暴时出现的扩展哨、多跳回波是沿东向扰动电场导致的场列电离增强路径传播的。对在东向电场影响下低纬Ｆ层的数值模拟表明，东向电场导致的场列电离增强结构有利于哨声的捕获和传播。     

Appearance of VLF and ELF-noises in topside ionosphere under the action of high power radio wave from data of satellite intercosmos-24

Results of a satellite experiment are presented on detection of VLF and ELF-waves excited by irradiation of the night ionosphere F-region by the field of a nonmodulated high-power radio wave. The excited VLF and ELF-waves have been detected at the topside ionosphere heights h=500–1000 km in the frequency bands 8 kHz相似文献   

First evidence of anisotropy of GPS phase slips caused by the mid-latitude field-aligned ionospheric irregularities

The mid-latitude field-aligned irregularity (FAI) along the magnetic field line is a common phenomenon in the ionosphere. However, few data reveal the field-aligned ionospheric irregularities. They are insufficient to identify FAIs effects so far, particularly effect on global positioning system (GPS) signals. In this paper, the mid-latitude FAIs by line-of-sight angular scanning relative to the local magnetic field vector are investigated using the denser GPS network observations in Japan. It has been the first found that total GPS L2 phase slips over Japan, during the recovery phase of the 12 Feb 2000 geomagnetic storm were caused by GPS signal scattering on FAIs both for the lines-of-sight aligned to the magnetic field line (the field of aligned scattering, FALS) and across the magnetic field line (the field of across scattering, FACS). The FALS results are also in a good agreement with the data of the magnetic field orientation control of GPS occultation observations of equatorial scintillation during thorough low earth orbit (LEO) satellites measurements, e.g. Challenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) and Satellite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C (SAC-C). The role of large-angle scattering almost along the normal to the magnetic field line in GPS scintillation is determined by attenuation of the irregularity anisotropy factor as compared with the other factors.     

Distribution and variability of accelerated electrons at Mars

We investigate accelerated electrons observed by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), using data from the Electron Reflectometer (ER) instrument. We find three different types of accelerated electron events. Current sheet events occur over regions with weak or no crustal fields, have the highest electron energy fluxes, and are likely located on draped magnetotail fields. Extended events occur over regions with moderate crustal magnetic fields, and are most often observed on closed magnetic field lines. Localized events have the lowest energy fluxes, occur in strong magnetic cusp regions, and are the most likely kind of event to be found on open magnetic field lines. Some localized events have clear signatures of field-aligned currents; these events have much higher electron fluxes, and are preferentially observed on radially oriented open magnetic field lines. Electron acceleration events, especially localized events, are similar in many ways to events observed in the terrestrial auroral zone. However, physical processes related to those found in the terrestrial cusp and/or plasmasheet could also be responsible for accelerating electrons at Mars.     

Mini-magnetosphere: Laboratory experiment,physical model and Hall MHD simulation

Magnetosphere with a size comparable to the ion kinetic scales is investigated by means of laboratory experiment, analytical analysis and Hall MHD simulation. In experiment a specific magnetic field was observed which is non-coplanar to dipole field, does not change sign at dipole moment inversion and could be generated only via the quadratic Hall term. Magnetopause position and plasma stand off distance were found to be profoundly different between the experimental regimes with small and large ion inertia length. In the previous studies of a mini-magnetosphere by kinetic codes such novel features were observed as absence of the bow shock and plasma stopping at the Stoermer particle limit instead of the pressure balance distance. Proposed analytical model explains these features by Hall currents which tend to cancel magnetic field convection by ions. Performed numerical simulation shows a good agreement with experiment and analytical model. It gives detailed spatial structure of the Hall field and reveals that while ions penetrate deep inside mini-magnetosphere electrons overflow around it along magnetopause boundary.     

Current-driven plasma instabilities and auroral-type particle acceleration at Venus

Above the ionosphere of Venus, several instruments on the Pioneer Orbiter detect correlated wave, field and particle phenomena suggestive of current-driven anomalous resistivity and auroral-type particle acceleration. In localized regions the plasma wave instrument measures intense mid-frequency turbulence levels together with strong field-aligned currents. Here the local parameters indicate that there is marginal stability for ion acoustic waves, and the electron temperature probe finds evidence that energetic primaries are present. This suggests an auroral-type energy deposition into the upper atmosphere of Venus. These results appear to be consistent with the direct measurements of auroral emissions from the Pioneer-Venus ultraviolet imaging spectrometer.     

太阳大气中有限振幅磁场扰动的动力学过程

本文从完整的磁流体动力学方程组出发,通过太阳大气中磁力线管根部有限振幅磁场的扰动,研究了非线性磁场的动力学演化。假设初始磁场位形足β<<1的势场,根部磁力线管磁场扰动,驱动等离子体运动,一部分磁能转换为等离子体动能。等离子体压缩运动具有快磁声波的特性。计算结果给出非线性磁场演化的定量关系,可以解释太阳大气中日冕活动过程。也可用于模拟实验室里高β实验装置中的等离子体的持性。      

电导率分布、对流电场转向区与场向电流形态(模式分析)

本文利用一些简单模式讨论对流转向区形态、电离层电导率的分布变化对场向电流形态的影响。结果表明,一区场向电流是最基本的,与对流转向区直接相联。二区场向电流的产生不仅与对流电场的屏蔽相联,也与电导率变化有关。电导率的变化还可产生一区电流高纬侧的零区电流和二区电流低纬侧的反向电流。此外,剪切转向区和旋转转向区所对应的场向电流分布也有所不同。本文结果有助于理解观测的场向电流之复杂形态,也可以解释同样的行星际磁场状况下,场向电流的不同变化。      

Substorms in the inner plasma sheet

Thin Current Sheets (TCS) are regularly formed prior to substorm breakup, even in the near-Earth plasma sheet, as close as the geostationary orbit. A self-consistent kinetic theory describing the response of the plasma sheet to an electromagnetic perturbation is given. This perturbation corresponds to an external forcing, for instance caused by the solar wind (not an internal instability). The equilibrium of the configuration of this TCS in the presence of a time varying perturbation is shown to produce a strong parallel thermal anisotropy (T T) of energetic electrons and ions (E>50keV) as well as an enhanced diamagnetic current carried by low energy ions (E<50keV). Both currents tend to enhance the confinement of this current sheet near the magnetic equator. These results are compared with data gathered by GEOS-2 at the geostationary orbit, where the magnetic signatures of TCS, and parallel anisotropics are regularly observed prior to breakup. By ensuring quasi-neutrality everywhere we find, when low frequency electromagnetic perturbations are applied, that although the magnetic field line remains an equipotential to the lowest order in T_e/T_i, a field-aligned potential drop exists to the next order in (T_e/T_i). Thus the development of a TCS implies the formation of a field-aligned potential drop ( few hundred volts) to ensure the quasi-neutrality everywhere. For an earthward directed pressure gradient, a field-aligned electric field, directed towards the ionosphere, is obtained, on the western edge of the perturbation (i.e. western edge of the current sheet). Thus field aligned beams of electrons are expected to flow towards the equatorial region on the western edge of the current sheet. We study the stability of these electron beams and show that they are unstable to “High Frequency” (HF) waves. These “HF” waves are regularly observed at frequencies of the order of the proton gyrofrequency (f_H+) just before, or at breakup. The amplitude of these HF waves is so large that they can produce a strong pitch-angle diffusion of energetic ions and a spatial diffusion that leads to a reduction of the diamagnetic current. The signature of a fast ion diffusion is indeed regularly observed during the early breakup; it coincides with the sudden development of large amplitude transient fluctuations, ballooning modes, observed at much lower frequencies (fH+). These results suggest that the HF waves, generated by field-aligned electron beams, provide the dissipation which is necessary to destabilize low frequency (ballooning) modes.     

Theoretical model of steady-state magnetic reconnection in collisionless incompressible plasma based on the Grad–Shafranov equation solution

The problem of steady-state magnetic reconnection in an infinite current layer in collisionless, incompressible, nonresistive plasma, except of the electron diffusion region, is examined analytically using the electron Hall magnetohydrodynamics approach. It is found that this approach allows reducing the problem to the magnetic field potential finding, while last one has to satisfy the Grad–Shafranov equation. The obtained solution demonstrates all essential Hall reconnection features, namely proton acceleration up to Alfvén velocities, the forming of Hall current systems and the magnetic field structure expected. It turns out that the necessary condition of steady-state reconnection to exist is an electric field potential jump across the electron diffusion region and the separatrices. Besides, the powerful mechanism of electron acceleration in X-line direction is required. It must accelerate electrons up to the electron Alfvén velocity inside the diffusion region and on the separatrixes. This is a necessary condition for steady-state reconnection as well.     

近地磁尾方位角流期间的场向电流增强

以往研究表明，地向高速流在近地磁尾可演化为方位角流，电离层内的方位角流和极光膨胀活动发生时，通过磁力线追踪到近地磁尾等离子体片的对应部分通常为地向和方位角高速流.通过对2016-2018年THEMIS卫星计划中THA，THD，THE三颗卫星同时观测到的数据进行分析、甄别后，在筛选出的62个事件中挑选一个典型的方位角流事件，与过去单颗卫星在不同时间段内的观测数据统计平均给出的结果进行对比分析发现，三颗卫星同时观测到的数据与过去单颗卫星在不同时间段内观测数据的统计平均结果存在较大差异.通过比较此事件期间等离子体流在xy平面的流场图发现，场向电流的大小与三颗卫星同时观测到的流场剪切度有较好的相关性.研究结果表明，方位角流期间近地磁尾和电离层通过场向电流耦合时，场向电流并不是在一个较宽的磁地方时内均匀分布，而是在一个局域化区域及较短的时间内产生强场向电流，这可能是由于方位角流在xy平面内的强剪切而造成的.      

The importance of conductivity gradients in ground-based field-aligned current studies

Magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling is achieved primarily through magnetic field-aligned currents. Such currents are difficult to measure directly and are usually inferred from satellite magnetometer recordings or from ground-based measurements of the divergence of ionospheric electric fields. The latter technique requires a knowledge of the ionospheric conductance distribution. Although it is possible to obtain the ionospheric electric field distribution over large spatial areas with good temporal resolution from coherent backscatter radars, these instruments cannot measure conductivity. Since the equation for computing field-aligned currents explicitly requires the gradient in conductance to be known, the use of statistically averaged models is excluded for case studies. If a dense enough array of magnetometers is available, these data may be used in combination with radar data to produce a measured conductance distribution within the overlapping fields of view. This has been done for data obtained in northern Scandinavia. Comparing field-aligned currents, computed with and without knowing the ionospheric conductance distribution, shows that gradients in conductance can not be ignored, even for quiet geomagnetic conditions.     

基于多应力加速试验方法的智能电表寿命评估

如何准确地分析、评估多应力-多参数下智能电表的可靠性和寿命是当前热点.首先分析了在温度、湿度、电应力、振动和磁场等条件下智能电表的性能参数内涵,通过失效机理分析提炼了关键参数及其敏感应力,然后通过强化试验探索了关键参数应力极限条件,设计了加速寿命试验方案并实施,对试验数据进行退化轨迹建模、多应力加速模型研究,综合评估了智能电表可靠性和寿命水平.本文成果能为改善智能电表可靠性和寿命提供方法.      

Application of an MHD simulation to the study of substorms

The substorm mechanism is studied by the numerical solutions obtained from a resistive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation. After a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the simulation results reproduce observed features of the growth phase. The numerical solutions show that the plasma sheet thinning during the growth phase is formed under the dynamic balance between the flux pileup from the midtail and the flux removal toward the dayside controlled by the convection in the magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) coupling system. After the growth phase, dipolarization is generated in the near-earth tail accompanied by a plasma injection into the inner magnetosphere, the formation of plasmoid in the midtail, and the enhancement of the nightside field-aligned currents (FACs). The direct cause of this onset is the state (phase space) transition of the convection system from a thinned state to a dipolarized state associated with a self-organization in the nonlinear system.     

Plasma effects of active ion beam injections in the ionosphere at rocket altitudes

Data from ARCS rocket ion beam injection experiments will be primarily discussed in this paper. There are three results from this series of active experiments that are of particular interest in space plasma physics. These are the transverse acceleration of ambient ions in the large beam volume, the scattering of beam ions near the release payload, and the possible acceleration of electrons very close to the plasma generator which produce intense high frequency waves. The ability of 100 ma ion beam injections into the upper E and F regions of the ionosphere to produce these phenomena appear to be related solely to the process by which the plasma release payload and the ion beam are neutralized. Since the electrons in the plasma release do not convect with the plasma ions, the neutralization of both the payload and beam must be accomplished by large field-aligned currents (milliamperes/square meter) which are very unstable to wave growth of various modes. Future work will concentrate on the wave production and wave-particle interactions that produce the plasma/energetic particle effects discussed in this paper and which have direct application to natural phenomena in the upper ionosphere and magnetosphere.