Particle Acceleration by Dense Impulsive Structures Moving in Ambient Magnetospheric Plasma. 3‐D Hybrid Kinetic Modeling and MMS Observations

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AbstractHigh resolution observations of dense plasma impulsive structures moving through an ambient background magnetospheric flows were captured by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. The observations show particle heating and acceleration, shock‐like wave formation, and whistler wave excitation inside the interface between the dense impulsive plasma structures and the ambient plasma. A multiscale hybrid kinetic simulation provides an explanation of the observed wave‐particle interactions with the assumption that the dense plasma structures may be represented by plasma clouds which are formed at the magnetopause layer due to reconnection processes.