Abstract
A laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the interaction between a plasma beam and a magnetic dipole, simulating the interaction between the solar wind and magnetized planets. The emphasis in this paper is on the laboratory simulation in the front region of the Earth’s magnetosphere and their variation under different solar wind conditions. The boundary in the front region of the magnetosphere is observed in a space simulation laboratory and the magnetospheric structure is produced by a super-Alfvenic and collisionless plasma beam interacting with terrella field. The boundary of the magnetosphere is determined by the factors that include solar wind parameters, such as magnetic fields, ion current density and magnetospheric structure images. It is interesting to compare the results of laboratory simulations with the empirical model by Shue et al. (1997) and the theoretical model by Cheng (1998) as well for the prediction of magnetopause locations under any solar wind condition. The comparisons show that for the northward IMF, magnetopause locations in the laboratory simulation are consistent with the theoretical model. As the magnitude of northward IMF Bz becomes higher, the subsolar distance and the flank position in laboratory simulations are consistent with the empirical model as well. For a lower southward IMF Bz, magnetopause locations in laboratory simulations are consistent with both the empirical and theoretical models. As the magnitude of the southward IMF Bz becomes higher, the subsolar distance and the flank position in laboratory simulations seem closer to the theoretical model than the empirical model.
Highlights
Introduction of Laboratory SimulationThere are rare experiments and detailed space measurements that have been conducted to date in order to understand the collisionless shock and front region of magnetosphere that are a common feature throughout the universe
The laboratory experiments were performed at the University of California, Riverside (UCRT1) space simulation facility
The slow diffusion rate, which is still much faster than the classical diffusion rate, can be explained by Hall conductivity. In this manner we identify the portion of the beam that is fully magnetized and has the parameter regime to scale the real solar wind plasma (Song et al 1990; Rahman et al 1991)
Summary
Introduction of Laboratory SimulationThere are rare experiments and detailed space measurements that have been conducted to date in order to understand the collisionless shock and front region of magnetosphere that are a common feature throughout the universe. Some of the fundamental properties of the solar wind interaction with the planets are still unresolved. This is mainly because planetary space missions are not common and the data returned from these planetary mis-. Quantitative differences revealed by continuing research can expand our knowledge of magnetospheres in general and thereby provide additional constraints for the test of mechanisms and models. This unique experiment is not exact simulation of the magnetosphere but does address the formation of each region of the magnetosphere in space physics. We give our attention to the front region of the magnetosphere without comparing the entire global features with the planetary-magnetosphere structures
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