Cold Dense Plasma Research Articles

Localized Magnetopause Erosion at Geosynchronous Orbit by Reconnection

AbstractThis study presents observations of magnetopause reconnection and erosion at geosynchronous orbit, utilizing in situ satellite measurements and remote sensing ground‐based instruments. During the main phase of a geomagnetic storm, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) 15 was on the dawnside of the dayside magnetopause (10.6 MLT) and observed significant magnetopause erosion, while GOES 13, observing duskside (14.6 MLT), remained within the magnetosphere. Combined observations from the THEMIS satellites and Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radars verified that magnetopause erosion was primarily caused by reconnection. While various factors may contribute to asymmetric erosion, the observations suggest that the weak reconnection rate on the duskside can play a role in the formation of asymmetric magnetopause shape. This discrepancy in reconnection rate is associated with the presence of cold dense plasma on the duskside of the magnetosphere, which limits the reconnection rate by mass loading, resulting in more efficient magnetopause erosion on the dawnside.

Quasi-periodic ELF/VLF emissions with atypical time structure inside the plasmasphere

Some results of observations on board the Van Allen probe A spacecraft of atypical quasi-periodic VLF electromagnetic emissions inside the plasmasphere are discussed. We study in detail two events (December 6, 2015 and November 24, 2015) of the generation of deeply modulated quasi-periodic VLF emissions (QP) in the frequency band below 2kHz, when separate relatively short (on the order of 20 and 60 s) bursts of hiss without any notable frequency drift repeated with a period of 90 and 240s. The emissions selected for analysis were not accompanied by a hydromagnetic compression wave, which indicates the impossibility of their interpretation in terms of the concept of QP 1 modulated hiss. For the considered events, no clear periodicity of spectral bursts typical for QP 2 emissions take place. The dynamic spectra analysis makes it possible to conclude that the cyclotron generation of electromagnetic emissions occurs in the regions of the electron radiation belts with relatively dense cold plasma. The time course of these emissions can be explained under the assumption of a periodic modification of the conditions for the reflection of whistler wave incident on the ionosphere from above. Based on the available data and calculations, it was concluded that it is possible to interpret the analysed atypical quasi-periodic VLF emissions as a result of the resonant parametric action of ionospheric infrasonic waves with periods close to the repetition period of spectral bursts in quasi-periodic emissions.

Unusual shrinkage and reshaping of Earth’s magnetosphere under a strong northward interplanetary magnetic field

The Earth’s magnetosphere is the region of space where plasma behavior is dominated by the geomagnetic field. It has a long tail typically extending hundreds of Earth radii (RE) with plentiful open magnetic fluxes threading the magnetopause associated with magnetic reconnection and momentum transfer from the solar wind. The open-flux is greatly reduced when the interplanetary magnetic field points northward, but the extent of the magnetotail remains unknown. Here we report direct observations of an almost complete disappearance of the open-flux polar cap characterized by merging poleward edges of a conjugate horse-collar aurora (HCA) in both hemispheres’ polar ionosphere. The conjugate HCA is generated by particle precipitation due to Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the dawn and dusk cold dense plasma sheets (CDPS). These CDPS are consist of solar wind plasma captured by a continuous dual-lobe magnetic reconnections, which is further squeezed into the central magnetotail, resulting in a short “calabash-shaped” magnetotail.

Early-Time Non-Equilibrium Pitch Angle Diffusion of Electrons by Whistler-Mode Hiss in a Plasmaspheric Plume Associated with BARREL Precipitation

In August 2015, the Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL) observed precipitation of energetic (<200 keV) electrons magnetically conjugate to a region of dense cold plasma as measured by the twin Van Allen Probes spacecraft. The two spacecraft passed through the high density region during multiple orbits, showing that the structure was spatial and relatively stable over many hours. The region, identified as a plasmaspheric plume, was filled with intense hiss-like plasma waves. We use a quasi-linear diffusion model to investigate plume whistler-mode hiss waves as the cause of precipitation observed by BARREL. The model input parameters are based on the observed wave, plasma and energetic particle properties obtained from Van Allen Probes. Diffusion coefficients are found to be largest in the same energy range as the precipitation observed by BARREL, indicating that the plume hiss waves were responsible for the precipitation. The event-driven pitch angle diffusion simulation is also used to investigate the evolution of the electron phase space density (PSD) for different energies and assumed initial pitch angle distributions. The results show a complex temporal evolution of the phase space density, with periods of both growth and loss. The earliest dynamics, within the ∼5 first minutes, can be controlled by a growth of the PSD near the loss cone (by a factor up to ∼2, depending on the conditions, pitch angle, and energy), favored by the absence of a gradient at the loss cone and by the gradients of the initial pitch angle distribution. Global loss by 1-3 orders of magnitude (depending on the energy) occurs within the first ∼100 min of wave-particle interaction. The prevalence of plasmaspheric plumes and detached plasma regions suggests whistler-mode hiss waves could be an important driver of electron loss even at high L-value (L ∼6), outside of the main plasmasphere.

Comparative Study of Electric Currents and Energetic Particle Fluxes in a Solar Flare and Earth Magnetospheric Substorm

Abstract Magnetic field line reconnection is a universal plasma process responsible for the conversion of magnetic field energy to plasma heating and charged particle acceleration. Solar flares and Earth's magnetospheric substorms are two of the most investigated dynamical systems where global magnetic field reconfiguration is accompanied by energization of plasma populations. Such a reconfiguration includes formation of a long-living current system connecting the primary energy release region and cold dense conductive plasma of the photosphere/ionosphere. In both flares and substorms the evolution of this current system correlates with the formation and dynamics of energetic particle fluxes (although energy ranges can be different for these systems). Our study is focused on the similarity between flares and substorms. Using a wide range of data sets available for flare and substorm investigations, we qualitatively compare the dynamics of currents and energetic particle fluxes for one flare and one substorm. We show that there is a clear correlation between energetic particle precipitations (associated with energy release due to magnetic reconnection seen from riometer and hard X-ray measurements) and magnetic field reconfiguration/formation of the current system, whereas the long-term current system evolution correlates better with hot plasma fluxes (seen from in situ and soft X-ray measurements). We then discuss how data sets of in situ measurements of magnetospheric substorms can help interpret solar flare data.

Geospace Plume and Its Impact on Dayside Magnetopause Reconnection Rate.

The role a geospace plume in influencing the efficiency of magnetopause reconnection is an open question with two contrasting theories being debated. A local‐control theory suggests that a plume decreases both local and global reconnection rates, whereas a global‐control theory argues that the global reconnection rate is controlled by the solar wind rather than local physics. Observationally, limited numbers of point measurements from spacecraft cannot reveal whether a local change affects the global reconnection. A distributed observatory is hence needed to assess the validity of the two theories. We use THEMIS and Los Alamos National Laboratory spacecraft to identify the occurrence of a geospace plume and its contact with the magnetopause. Global evolution and morphology of the plume is traced using GPS measurements. SuperDARN is then used to monitor the distribution and the strength of dayside reconnection. Two storm‐time geospace plume events are examined and show that as the plume contacts the magnetopause, the efficiency of reconnection decreases at the contact longitude. The amount of local decrease is 81% and 68% for the two events, and both values are consistent with the mass loading effect of the plume if the plume's atomic mass is ∼4 amu. Reconnection in the surrounding is enhanced, and when the solar wind driving is stable, little variation is seen in the cross polar cap potential. This study illuminates a pathway to resolve the role of cold dense plasma on solar wind‐magnetosphere coupling, and the observations suggest that plumes redistribute magnetopause reconnection activity without changing the global strength substantially.

Generation of Subauroral Longitudinally Extended Emissions Following Intensifications of the Poleward Boundary of the Substorm Bulge and Streamer Production

AbstractObservations showing the development of Subauroral Longitudinally Extended Emigerssions on a global scale are presented. It is demonstrated that they occur as a separation of an east‐west arc‐like band of luminosity that detaches away from the equatorward edge of the auroral distribution following episodes of auroral streamer production. They persist for time intervals on the order of ∼30 min and devolve into patchy disjointed segments before they fade. Emissions are seen in both 557.7 nm OI and 391.4 nm 1NG lines, and 630.0 nm emissions are often observed equatorward. The 391.4 nm emissions are typically weaker and fade away more quickly than the 557.7 nm emissions, suggesting that an auroral precipitation source is initially present but is rapidly depleted as the forms age. All cases are associated with enhanced Subauroral Polarization Stream (SAPS) flows, and one event shows clear association with large‐scale Giant Undulations (GUs) and the formation of spur‐like forms that fold equatorward under the main oval. A model is proposed for the production of subauroral longitudinally extended forms in which nonlinear growth of SAPS‐induced surface waves on the plasmapause results in a disruption of the boundary. It is suggested that hot plasma of plasma sheet origin becomes entrained in the plasmasphere to produce transient precipitation‐associated auroral emissions that may decay into STEVE emissions and that cold dense plasma from the plasmasphere becomes entrained onto open drift paths to feed long‐lived drainage plumes. This process may occur quasi periodically during intense substorms and storm‐time conditions.

Local Time Differences in the Ionospheric Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves during Storm Time

By using high-resolution (50 Hz) magnetic field observations from Swarm constellation, the temporal and spatial characteristics of Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves in different local time sectors at mid-latitudes are investigated during the magnetic storm period of 16—25 March 2015. There are comparable number of EMIC wave events in the dawn and dusk sectors, while there are more EMIC wave events in the pre-noon sector than in the pre-midnight sector. The duskside preference is related to the plasmaspheric plume, while the dawnside preference is related to the enhanced solar wind dynamic pressure and dense cold plasma. The wave frequency in the dawn and pre-noon sectors is higher than that in the dusk and pre-midnight sectors, implying the local time difference in the source location and the ion composition. Most of the duskside events occur in the early recovery phase, while the dawnside events occur in the late recovery phase. The time difference comes from the time required for the westward drift of energetic ions and local time difference in the plasmapause position. H⁺ band waves are mainly found in the 06:00 MLT—10:00 MLT sector, while He⁺ band waves are mainly confined in the 18:00 MLT—22:00 MLT sector. There is no H⁺ band but a two band (He⁺ and O⁺) EMIC wave during the storm main phase, indicating the role of the dense oxygen ion in inhibiting the H⁺ band in the inner magnetosphere.

Simulation of Plasmaspheric Plume Impact on Dayside Magnetic Reconnection

AbstractDuring periods of strong magnetic activity, cold dense plasma from the plasmasphere typically forms a plume extending toward the dayside magnetopause, eventually reaching it. In this work, we present a large‐scale two‐dimensional fully kinetic particle‐in‐cell simulation of a reconnecting magnetopause hit by a propagating plasmaspheric plume. The simulation is designed so that it undergoes four distinct phases: initial unsteady state, steady state prior to plume arrival at the magnetospause, plume interaction, and steady state once the plume is well engulfed in the reconnection site. We show the evolution of the magnetopause's dynamics subjected to the modification of the inflowing plasma. Our main result is that the change in the plasma temperature (cold protons in the plume) has no effects on the magnetic reconnection rate, which on average depends only on the inflowing magnetic field and total ion density, before, during, and after the impact.

Plasmaspheric hiss waves generate a reversed energy spectrum of radiation belt electrons

Highly energetic electrons are trapped in the magnetic field of Earth’s radiation belts. The physical mechanisms driving the dynamics of the Van Allen belts can be understood from the electron’s energy spectrum, which is believed to be steeply falling with increasing energy. This view has been prevalent for the past 60 years since the energy spectra were first measured. Here, we report the observation of a reversed energy spectrum with abundant high-energy and fewer low-energy electrons spanning from hundreds of keV to around two MeV in electron energy in data collected with NASA’s Van Allen Probes. We find that this spectrum dominates inside the plasmasphere—a dense cold plasma region co-rotating with the Earth. Using two-dimensional Fokker–Planck diffusion simulations with a time-dependent, data-driven model of hiss waves in the plasmasphere, we demonstrate that the formation of the reversed spectrum is explained by the scattering of hiss waves. The results have important implications for understanding the distributions of charged particles and wave–particle interactions in magnetized plasmas throughout the solar system and beyond. Observations reveal that electrons in Earth’s outer radiation belt possess a spectrum that partially rises with increasing energy, contrary to common beliefs. Plasma hiss waves scattered off electrons are found to be the origin of this phenomenon.

Measuring The Temperature and Density of Secondary Electrons in an Argon Electron-Beam Plasma

The results of temperature and density measurements of secondary electrons in a free jet of argon, activated in an electron beam plasma, carried out using a Langmuir double electrostatic probe. A cold plasmatron prototype with a primary beam energy of 1 keV is used obtain a jet of dense cold plasma with a cross size of approximately 80 mm and parameters with which silicon layers may be deposited with necessary characteristics in a forvacuum pressure range.

Coupled Fluid-Kinetic Numerical Method to Model Spacecraft Charging in LEO

Although spacecraft charging in low Earth orbit is generally regarded as insignificant because the cold dense ionospheric plasma prevents the development of strong potential differences, scientific satellites (e.g., Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales TARANIS satellite) carry very sensitive instruments, the measurements by which may be impacted by the charging of the spacecraft. In order to assess the effect of the spacecraft charging on the measurements, simulations will be performed using the Spacecraft Plasma Interaction System (SPIS) software. Different numerical schemes are implemented in the SPIS, but none is perfectly fit to perform very low-noise simulations for satellites in ionospheric plasma within an admissible computation time. In this paper, a coupling between the Poisson–Boltzmann approximation and the particle-in-cell schema is proposed. This results in having the advantages of the analytic methods in terms of statistical noise and computational resources without suffering from some of their limitations.

Excitation of hydrogen atom by ultrashort laser pulses in optically dense plasma

The features of excitation of a hydrogen atom by ultrashort laser pulses (USP) with a Gaussian envelope in optically dense plasma at a Lyman‐beta transition are studied theoretically. The problem is of interest for diagnostics of optically dense media. USP have two doubtless advantages over conventional laser excitation: (a) the USP carrier frequency is shifted to the region of short wavelengths allowing exciting atoms from the ground state and (b) the wide spectrum of USP allows them to penetrate into optically dense media to much longer distances as compared with monochromatic radiation. As actual realistic cases, two examples are considered: hot rarefied plasma (the coronal limit) and dense cold plasma (the Boltzmann equilibrium). Universal expressions for the total probability of excitation of the transition under consideration are obtained in view of absorption of radiation in a medium. As initial data for the spectral form of a line, the results of calculations by methods of molecular dynamics are used. The probability of excitation of an atom is analysed for different values of problem parameters: the pulse duration, the optical thickness of a medium, and the detuning of the pulse carrier frequency from the eigenfrequency of an electron transition.

Mass ablation and magnetic flux losses through a magnetized plasma-liner wall interface

The understanding of energy and magnetic flux losses in a magnetized plasma medium confined by a cold wall is of great interest in the success of magnetized liner inertial fusion (MagLIF). In a MagLIF scheme, the fuel is magnetized and subsonically compressed by a cylindrical liner. Magnetic flux conservation is degraded by the presence of gradient-driven transport processes such as thermoelectric effects (Nernst) and magnetic field diffusion. In previous publications [Velikovich et al., Phys. Plasmas 22, 042702 (2015)], the evolution of a hot magnetized plasma in contact with a cold solid wall (liner) was studied using the classical collisional Braginskii's plasma transport equations in one dimension. The Nernst term degraded the magnetic flux conservation, while both thermal energy and magnetic flux losses were reduced with the electron Hall parameter ωeτe with a power-law asymptotic scaling (ωeτe)−1/2. In the analysis made in the present paper, we consider a similar situation, but with the liner being treated differently. Instead of a cold solid wall acting as a heat sink, we model the liner as a cold dense plasma with low thermal conduction (that could represent the cryogenic fuel layer added on the inner surface of the liner in a high-gain MagLIF configuration). Mass ablation comes into play, which adds notably differences to the previous analysis. The direction of the plasma motion is inverted, but the Nernst term still convects the magnetic field towards the liner. Magnetization suppresses the Nernst velocity and improves the magnetic flux conservation. Thermal energy in the hot plasma is lost in heating the ablated material. When the electron Hall parameter is large, mass ablation scales as (ωeτe)−3/10, while both the energy and magnetic flux losses are reduced with a power-law asymptotic scaling (ωeτe)−7/10.

Temperature variations in the dayside magnetosheath and their dependence on ion‐scale magnetic structures: THEMIS statistics and measurements by MMS

AbstractThe magnetosheath contains an array of waves, instabilities, and nonlinear magnetic structures which modify global plasma properties by means of various wave‐particle interactions. The present work demonstrates that ion‐scale magnetic field structures (∼0.2–0.5 Hz) observed in the dayside magnetosheath are statistically correlated to ion temperature changes on orders 10–20% of the background value. In addition, our statistical analysis implies that larger temperature changes are in equipartition to larger amplitude magnetic structures. This effect was more pronounced behind the quasi‐parallel bow shock and during faster solar wind speeds. The study of two separate intervals suggests that this effect can result from both local and external drivers. This manuscript presents two separate case studies, one from using THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) data and another from Magnetospheric Multiscale; these measurements are then supported by extensive THEMIS statistical observations. These results could partly explain the 10–20% dawn‐favored asymmetry of the magnetosheath ion temperature seed population and contribute to the dawn‐favored asymmetry of cold component ions in the cold dense plasma sheet.

Fluid description of collisional current-filamentation instability of warm-dilute electron beam

The non-relativistic fluid description of collisional current-filamentation instability (CFI) of warm-dilute electron beam interacting with stationary cold-dense plasma is investigated in the presence of space charge effect (SCE). Illustrating the equilibrium configuration, the linear perturbation theory yields dispersion relation (DR). Numerical analysis of the obtained DR shows that, considering the thermal effect (finite temperature of electron beam), CFI does not saturate with perturbation wave number but it fades out for wave numbers larger than the cut-off wave number. Examining the maximum growth rate and unstable wavelength region for various system parameters, the pressure and current-driven instability as well as collision-driven stability of collisional CFI and CFI-SCE are completely investigated. The results of the present investigation will greatly contribute to the understanding of the first phase of shock formation, as well as magnetized field amplification in astrophysical environments and laboratory experiments, where the collisional current-filamentation instability can play a central role in the colliding system.

Interchange Reconnection Associated with a Confined Filament Eruption: Implications for the Source of Transient Cold-dense Plasma in Solar Winds

Abstract The cold-dense plasma is occasionally detected in the solar wind with in situ data, but the source of the cold-dense plasma remains illusive. Interchange reconnections (IRs) between closed fields and nearby open fields are known to contribute to the formation of solar winds. We present a confined filament eruption associated with a puff-like coronal mass ejection (CME) on 2014 December 24. The filament underwent successive activations and finally erupted, due to continuous magnetic flux cancelations and emergences. The confined erupting filament showed a clear untwist motion, and most of the filament material fell back. During the eruption, some tiny blobs escaped from the confined filament body, along newly formed open field lines rooted around the south end of the filament, and some bright plasma flowed from the north end of the filament to remote sites at nearby open fields. The newly formed open field lines shifted southward with multiple branches. The puff-like CME also showed multiple bright fronts and a clear southward shift. All the results indicate an intermittent IR existed between closed fields of the confined erupting filament and nearby open fields, which released a portion of filament material (blobs) to form the puff-like CME. We suggest that the IR provides a possible source of cold-dense plasma in the solar wind.

The formation of superdense plasma sheet in association with the IMF turning from northward to southward

AbstractWe have studied two events in which relatively superdense plasma appeared near geosynchronous orbit after the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) changed from a long period of northward condition to southward condition. We used the magnetosphere MHD model Open Geospace General Circulation Model to simulate these two events and compared the simulation results with observations. The observations and the simulation results show that an extended period of northward IMF caused a cold dense plasma sheet (CDPS) to form in the near tail, and a subsequent southward IMF caused a highly stretched near‐tail dipole field, which enhanced the earthward convection and eventually set off reconnection. Some of the cold dense plasma was thus consequently transported to geosynchronous orbit and formed a superdense plasma sheet (SDPS). CDPS is the main source of SDPS in its early stage after the IMF southward turning.

Whistler emission in the separatrix regions of asymmetric magnetic reconnection

AbstractAt Earth's dayside magnetopause asymmetric magnetic reconnection occurs between the cold dense magnetosheath plasma and the hot tenuous magnetospheric plasma, which differs significantly from symmetric reconnection. During magnetic reconnection the separatrix regions are potentially unstable to a variety of instabilities. In this paper observations of the separatrix regions of asymmetric reconnection are reported as Cluster crossed the magnetopause near the subsolar point. The small relative motion between the spacecraft and plasma allows spatial changes of electron distributions within the separatrix regions to be resolved over multiple spacecraft spins. The electron distributions are shown to be unstable to the electromagnetic whistler mode and the electrostatic beam mode. Large‐amplitude whistler waves are observed in the magnetospheric and magnetosheath separatrix regions, and outflow region. In the magnetospheric separatrix regions the observed whistler waves propagate toward the X line, which are shown to be driven by the loss in magnetospheric electrons propagating away from the X line and are enhanced by the presence of magnetosheath electrons. The beam mode waves are predicted to be produced by beams of magnetosheath electrons propagating away from the X line and potentially account for some of the electrostatic fluctuations observed in the magnetospheric separatrix regions.

Imaging the development of the cold dense plasma sheet

AbstractThe Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) frequently images the Earth's magnetosphere in Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs). In May 2013, there was an extended period of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) while IBEX was imaging the Earth's magnetotail. During this period, IBEX imaged the development of the cold plasma sheet between about 15 and 20 Earth radii (RE) down the tail from the Earth. The ENA fluxes changed in both amplitude and average energy during this development. In addition, the plasma sheet may have thickened. At the end of the interval, the IMF turned southward and ENA fluxes decreased. The thickening of the plasma sheet suggests that the plasma in this region increases in both density and volume as it develops during extended periods of northward IMF. The decrease in the ENA flux suggests thinning of the plasma sheet and loss of plasma associated with the IMF turning.