Structure and properties of the subsolar magnetopause for northward IMF: ISEE observations

Abstract

Detailed magnetopause structure and properties for the magnetic field, electric field and plasma are examined for an ISEE 1 magnetopause crossing which occurred near the subsolar point when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was strongly northward. Because the crossing is slow, the spatial variations in the plasma are clearly resolved. This example illustrates the nature of the steady state interface of two magnetized thermal plasma populations with parallel fields and can serve as a guide to theoretical modeling and simulations. We have found that the magnetopause is composed of three layers, a sheath transition layer, an outer boundary layer and an inner boundary layer. In the sheath transition layer, there is a gradual density decrease without a change in temperature. The transition layer occurs totally within the magnetosheath plasma. The outer boundary layer and the inner boundary layer are dominated by magnetosheath and magnetospheric particles, respectively. In each of the boundary layers, the plasma can be interpreted as simple mixtures of the magnetosheath and magnetospheric populations. No significant heating or cooling is seen across the magnetopause during this crossing. The plasma within each of these layers is quite uniform and their boundaries are sharp, suggesting that there is very little diffusion present. The sharp boundaries between the transition layer, the boundary layers and the magnetosphere are all thinner than an ion gyroradius. Transverse waves with right hand or linear polarization near the ion gyrofrequency are observed in the transition layer. These appear to be generated in the transition layer and to be a common feature of this layer when the IMF is northward.