Corotation Direction Research Articles

On Current Sheets and Associated Density Spikes in Titan’s Ionosphere as Seen From Cassini

AbstractThe Cassini spacecraft made in‐situ measurements of Titan's plasma environment during 126 close encounters between 2004 and 2017. Here we report on observations from the Radio and Plasma Waves System/Langmuir probe instrument (RPWS/LP) from which we have observed, primarily on the outbound leg, a localized increase of the electron density by up to 150 cm−3 with respect to the background. This feature, appearing as an electron density spike in the data, is found during 28 of the 126 flybys. The data from RPWS/LP, the electron spectrometer from the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer package , and the magnetometer is used to calculate electron densities and magnetic field characteristics. The location of these structures around Titan with respect to the nominal corotation direction and the sun direction is investigated. We find that the electron density spikes are primarily observed on the dayside and ramside of Titan. We also observe magnetic field signatures that could suggest the presence of current sheets in most cases. The density spikes are extended along the trajectory of the spacecraft with the horizontal scale of ∼537 ± 160 km and vertical scale ∼399 ± 163 km. We suggest that the density spikes are formed as a result of the current sheet formation.

First 3D test particle model of Ganymede's ionosphere

We present the first three-dimensional multi-species ionospheric model for Ganymede, based on a test particle Monte Carlo approach. Inputs include the electromagnetic field configuration around the moon from the magnetospheric models developed by Leclercq et al. (2016) and by Jia et al. (2009), and the number density, bulk velocity and temperature distributions of the neutral exosphere simulated by Leblanc et al. (2017). According to our simulations, O2+ is the most abundant ion species, followed by O+, H2+ and H2O+. For O+ and O2+, the majority of ions produced impact the moon's surface, while for the other species the majority escapes Ganymede's magnetosphere. For all ion species, the escape occurs either in the direction of corotation of the Jovian plasma or through the Alfvén wings.To validate our model, the output of our simulations, performed under the Galileo G2 flyby conditions, are compared to the observations. These include the electron density derived by the plasma wave instrument (PWS), the ion energy spectrogram measured by the plasma analyzer (PLS) and the associated plasma moments (Frank et al., 1997a).On the one hand, the electron density found by our model is consistently underestimated throughout the flyby, being at least one order of magnitude lower compared to observations. We argue that the prime reason for this discrepancy comes from the exospheric density, which may be underestimated. On the other hand, we find a remarkably good agreement between the modeled ion energy spectrogram and that recorded by PLS, providing a validation of the test particle model. Finally, we compare the modeled plasma moments along the G2 flyby with those analyzed by Frank et al. (1997a). The data seems to be more consistent with an ionosphere dominated by O2+ instead of H+ or O+, as suggested previously in the literature. This supports our finding that O2+ is the dominant ion species close to the surface.

Magnetic signatures of plasma interaction and induction at Callisto: The Galileo C21, C22, C23, and C30 flybys

AbstractWe apply a combination of analytical modeling, hybrid simulations, and data analysis techniques to provide a comprehensive study of magnetometer data from four Galileo flybys of Callisto (C21, C22, C23, and C30) that have never been discussed in the literature before. Callisto's distance to the center of Jupiter's magnetospheric current sheet varied considerably from flyby to flyby. Therefore, the relative strength of the magnetic field perturbations due to Callisto's plasma interaction with Jupiter's magnetosphere and induction within Callisto's subsurface ocean drastically changed as well. During C21, a strong magnetic field perturbation along the corotation direction was detected in Callisto's geometric plasma shadow. This enhancement can be explained with Callisto's steady state plasma interaction only, if the upstream flow possessed a nonnegligible component away from Jupiter. During C22, Galileo only grazed Callisto's Alfvén wings which were elevated out of the flyby plane due to the ambient magnetospheric field orientation. During C23, the combination of an inclined flyby trajectory and finite gyroradius effects caused Callisto's observed Alfvén wings to be slightly asymmetric between both hemispheres. During C30, a discontinuity with a surface normal pointed toward Jupiter was detected within Callisto's geometric plasma shadow, similar to the earlier C10 flyby. Due to strong plasma interaction and an unfavorable flyby geometry (C21), a large closest approach altitude (C22), or weak inducing field (C23 and C30), no discernible induction signatures were observed during these four flybys. Based on data from all available Galileo flybys, we determine requirements on future flyby geometries that must be satisfied for an identification of Callisto's subsurface ocean in magnetometer data.

An equatorial solar wind model with angular momentum conservation and nonradial magnetic fields and flow velocities at an inner boundary

AbstractAn analytic, self‐consistent, theoretical model for the solar wind is developed that generalizes previous models to include all of the following: conservation of angular momentum, frozen‐in magnetic fields, both radial (r) and azimuthal (ϕ) components of the magnetic field (Br and Bϕ) and velocity (vr and vϕ) from the inner boundary rs to 1 AU, and the detailed tracing back of observations at 1 AU to the inner boundary and all intervening (r,ϕ). The new model applies near the solar equatorial plane, assumes constant radial wind speed at each heliolongitude, and enforces corotation at the inner boundary. It is shown that the new theoretical model can be reduced to the previous models in the appropriate limits. We apply the model to two solar rotations of Wind spacecraft data, one near solar minimum (1–27 August 2010) and one near solar maximum (1–27 July 2002). The model analytically predicts the Alfvénic critical radius ra from the radial Alfvénic Mach number observed at 1 AU. Typically, the values are less than 15 solar radii, in agreement with some recent observations, and vary with longitude. Values of vϕ(r,ϕ) are predicted from the model, being always in the sense of corotation but varying in magnitude with r and ϕ. Reasonable and self‐consistent results are found for Br(r,ϕ), Bϕ(r,ϕ), vϕ(r,ϕ), and n(r,ϕ) from rs to 1 AU. Both the azimuthal and radial magnetic fields at rs vary with time by more than an order of magnitude and usually |Br(rs,ϕs)|≥|Bϕ(rs,ϕs)|. Typically, though not always, magnetic contributions to the total angular momentum are small. Interestingly, however, the azimuthal flow velocities observed at 1 AU are not always in the corotation direction and usually have much larger magnitudes than predicted by the model. Conservation of angular momentum alone cannot explain these azimuthal velocities and the standard interpretation involving stream‐stream interactions and dynamical behavior seems reasonable. Issues regarding the model's applicability appear to be due to the assumptions of corotation and constant wind speed breaking down below the Alfvén critical radius.

Solar cycle and 27-day variations of the diurnal anisotropy of cosmic rays during the solar cycle 23

The diurnal anisotropy of cosmic-ray intensity observed over the period 1997–2006, which coincides with the solar cycle 23, has been analyzed using cosmic ray data from Athens and Oulu neutron monitor stations. In this analysis it was observed that the time of the diurnal variation maximum shifted to earlier hours than the corotation direction from 1997 to 2000, where the polarity state of the magnetic field was positive ( $qA > 0$ ) and to later hours from 2001 to 2006 where the polarity state was negative ( $qA < 0$ ). Moreover the 27-day variation of the cosmic-ray diurnal anisotropy in connection with the 27-day variation of the interplanetary magnetic field has been studied. In this study six groups of ten Bartel rotations each one have been analyzed (2232–2241, 2249–2258, 2275–2284, 2286–2295, 2328–2337, 2356–2365). It is remarkable that the 27-day variation of cosmic- ray intensity is characterized by the well known sector structure and it is well correlated with the $B_{XY}$ component of the interplanetary magnetic field. These findings during the last solar cycle confirm once again the close relation of the diurnal variation of cosmic ray intensity and the interplanetary magnetic field.

Recurrent pulsations in Saturn’s high latitude magnetosphere

Over the course of about 6h on Day 129, 2008, the UV imaging spectrograph (UVIS) on the Cassini spacecraft observed a repeated intensification and broadening of the high latitude auroral oval into the polar cap. This feature repeated at least 5 times with about a 1h period, as it rotated in the direction of corotation, somewhat below the planetary rotation rate, such that it moved from noon to post-dusk, and from roughly 77° to 82° northern latitudes during the observing interval. The recurring UV observation was accompanied by pronounced ∼1h pulsations in auroral hiss power, magnetic perturbations consistent with small-scale field aligned currents, and energetic ion conics and electrons beaming upward parallel to the local magnetic field at the spacecraft location. The magnetic field and particle events are in phase with the auroral hiss pulsation. This event, taken in the context of the more thoroughly documented auroral hiss and particle signatures (seen on many high latitude Cassini orbits), sheds light on the possible driving mechanisms, the most likely of which are magnetopause reconnection and/or Kelvin Helmholtz waves.

Plasma flows in Saturn's nightside magnetosphere

AbstractThe plasma properties, especially the flow parameters, obtained from numerical integration of Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) Ion Mass Spectrometer measurements during intervals when the CAPS field of view encompassed both inward and outward flow directions relative to corotation are examined for nightside data (18–06 local time) during 2006, 2009, and 2010. The results show good agreement with previously reported values derived using different selection criteria and a different analysis technique. Nightside flows are predominantly in or near the corotation direction, indicating continuing influence of connection to the ionosphere. There is no evidence for a quasi‐steady reconnection x line within the surveyed region of the tail, although dynamic events attributable to transient reconnection have been observed. There is a net radial mass outflow, leading to an estimated net mass loss between 18 and 03 local time of ~34 kg/s. Part of this mass loss occurs as a “planetary wind” along the dusk flank. The remainder probably occurs ultimately much deeper in the tail and along the distant dawn magnetopause, when the mass disconnects from the weakened planetary magnetic field.

Variability of Titan's induced magnetotail: Cassini magnetometer observations

AbstractWe study the structure and variability of Titan's magnetotail by analyzing Cassini magnetic field observations from all tail crossings between 2005 and 2013. Titan's magnetotail is strongly affected by fluctuations in the ambient magnetospheric field conditions. Therefore, even Titan flybys with nearly identical trajectories may reveal a completely different location and strength of the perturbations in the moon's tail. Short‐scale variations of the ambient magnetospheric field may cause a “fragmentation” of Titan's magnetic lobes, as also seen in Cassini Plasma Spectrometer ion data. By transforming the magnetic field perturbations detected during all available tail crossings to the Draping Coordinate System, we identified the following general characteristics of Titan's plasma interaction: (1) Perpendicular to the background magnetic field and the corotation direction, Titan's magnetotail is confined to a narrow region with a diameter of about 5 Titan radii. Thus, Titan's tail exhibits a rather “flat” structure reminiscent of a delta wing. (2) The plasma incident upon Titan does not possess a significant velocity component along the Saturn‐Titan line. (3) The nonzero component of the background field along the corotation direction generates an asymmetry of Titan's magnetotail which clearly manifests in Cassini magnetometer data.

Cassini/CAPS observations of duskside tail dynamics at Saturn

AbstractPlasma properties of Saturn's premidnight tail region are surveyed using Cassini/Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) ion observations from 2010. Only low‐latitude (|lat| &lt; 6°) intervals in which the CAPS viewing was roughly symmetric inward and outward around the corotation direction are used. Our numerical moments algorithm returns nonzero ion density for 70% (999) of the intervals selected. Of these, 642 had detectable water‐group ion densities, and the remainder were dominantly, if not entirely, light ions. The derived plasma parameters are similar to those found in an earlier study for the postmidnight tail region, except that we find little evidence for the systematic outflows identified in that study, and we do find numerous significant inflow events. One such inflow is identified as a dipolarization event, the first reported plasma properties of such a structure at Saturn. A second, long‐lasting event may be evidence for the existence at times of a quasi‐steady reconnection region in the premidnight tail. The large majority of the plasma flows are found to be within 20° of the corotation direction, though with flow speeds significantly lower than full corotation. While the inflow events represent plausible evidence for internally driven mass loss in the premidnight region, the absence of significant outflow events suggests that in the region surveyed here, tail reconnection has not yet proceeded to involve lobe field lines, so the disconnected plasma continues its general motion in the corotation direction.

Three‐dimensional multi‐fluid simulations of Titan's interaction with Saturn's magnetosphere: Comparisons with Cassini's T55 flyby

We describe a new multi‐fluid model of Titan's interaction with Saturn's magnetosphere that includes finer resolution in Titan's ionosphere, photoionization, electron‐impact ionization, dissociative recombination, and ion‐neutral coupling in the momentum and energy equations. We compare simulation results to data from Cassini's T55 flyby to show that including magnetospheric electron‐impact ionization in Titan's nightside ionosphere is necessary to calculate electron densities, electron temperatures, and ion velocities that are consistent with Cassini observations. However, similar to other studies, we find that the electron‐impact ionization rate calculated by the model needs to be significantly reduced to produce an electron density that is in agreement with the observations. We also find that an upstream plasma flow with significant components northward and radially outward from Saturn is needed to reproduce the gradual increase in electron density observed during the ingress portion of T55. This suggests that Titan was in a nonideal environment with a plasma flow oriented away from the direction of corotation during T55 and likely during the subsequent flybys T56, T57, T58, and T59 when similar electron density enhancements were seen on the inbound portion of Cassini's trajectory.

Analysis of Cassini magnetic field observations over the poles of Rhea

We analyze Cassini magnetic field observations from the only two polar flybys of Saturn's largest icy satellite Rhea (R2 on 02 March 2010 and R3 on 11 January 2011) which are scheduled between Saturn Orbit Insertion and the end of the mission in 2017. For the interpretation of these data, we apply estimations from simple analytical models as well as results from numerical hybrid simulations (kinetic ions, fluid electrons) of Rhea's interaction with the incident magnetospheric plasma. In‐situ observations of exospheric neutral gas and pick‐up ions suggest Rhea to be embedded in a tenuous gas envelope. However, the interaction of this gas with the magnetospheric flow does not make any measurable contributions to the magnetic field perturbations detected above the poles of the moon. Instead, the field perturbations observed in these regions mainly arise from the absorption of magnetospheric particles with large field‐aligned velocities, impinging on the north and south polar surface of Rhea. In addition to numerous interaction features known from preceding Cassini flybys of Saturn's plasma‐absorbing moons, the magnetic field data acquired above Rhea's poles reveal perturbations of the flow‐aligned field component, corresponding to a draping/Alfvén wing pattern. Based on our hybrid simulations, we suggest that these signatures arise from the finite extension of Rhea's wakeside plasma void along the corotational flow direction, yielding a density gradient in corotation direction, and thereby generating a diamagnetic current from the Saturn‐facing into the Saturn‐averted hemisphere of the moon. This transverse current is responsible for generating a weak Alfvén wing pattern at Rhea which has been detected by the Cassini spacecraft during the R2 and R3 flybys. Due to the large gyroradii of the incident magnetospheric ions, this structure features a pronounced asymmetry with respect to the direction of the convective electric field. Results of our simulation, considering only plasma absorption on the moon, are in good agreement with Cassini magnetometer data from both flybys. At Saturn's icy satellites Tethys and Dione, the low value of the magnetospheric plasma beta most likely prevents the formation of similar currents and measurable flow‐aligned magnetic field distortions.

Statistical ring current of Saturn

The statistical ring current of Saturn has been determined from the curl of the median magnetic field derived from over 5 years of observations of the Cassini magnetometer. The main issue addressed here is the calculation of the statistical ring current of Saturn by directly computing, for the first time, the symmetrical part of the ring current J from the Maxwell equation ∇ × B = μ0J from assembling the perturbation magnetic field B from 2004 through 2010. This study validates previous studies, based on fewer data and not using ∇ × B, and shows that the ring current flows eastward (in the +ϕ or corotation direction) and extends from ∼3 RS to at least ∼20 RS (1 RS = 60,268 km), which is the vicinity of the dayside magnetopause; that the ring current has a peak strength of ∼75 pA/m2 at ∼9.5 RS; and that the ring current has a half‐width of ∼1.5 RS. Two outcomes of this study are that the ring current bends northward, as suggested by the “bowl” model of Saturn's plasma sheet, and that the total ring current is 9.2 ± 1.0 MA. In the context of future endeavors, the statistical ring current presented here can be used for calculations of the magnetic field of Saturn for particle drifts, field line mapping, and J × B force.

Influence of negatively charged plume grains and hemisphere coupling currents on the structure of Enceladus' Alfvén wings: Analytical modeling of Cassini magnetometer observations

[1] We present an analytical model of the Alfven wing system that is generated by the interaction between the plume of Enceladus and the corotating plasma in Saturn's inner magnetosphere. Our primary purpose is to explain the orientation of the magnetic field perturbations detected in Enceladus' Alfven wings by the Cassini magnetometer (MAG) instrument. Observational data from numerous close Enceladus flybys show both the Bx and By components (in Enceladus interaction coordinates: Bx, along corotation direction; By, toward or away from Saturn) in the center of the northern wing tube to possess a negative sign, whereas the opposite case of Bx and By being positive was observed within the southern wing. So far, none of the available models of Enceladus' magnetospheric interaction is able to reproduce this correlation between the directions of Bx and By. On the basis of the analytical calculations of Neubauer (1980, 1998) and Saur et al. (1999, 2007), we demonstrate that the observed orientation of the magnetic field may arise from the presence of negatively charged dust grains in the plume of Enceladus, serving as a sink for “free” magnetospheric electrons. Although the current carried by these particles does not make a noteworthy contribution to the magnetic field distortions in the interaction region, the negative charge accumulated by them needs to be accounted for in the quasi-neutrality condition of the plasma. The depletion of magnetospheric electrons within the plume is therefore far from causing only some localized perturbations of the magnetic field, but it drastically alters the nature of the interaction: we show that this process yields a reversal in the sign of the Hall conductivity, thereby giving rise to the observed field signatures. By applying a modified version of the Alfven wing model developed by Saur et al. (2007), we demonstrate that the magnetic field observations from Cassini's targeted Enceladus flybys can be understood by taking into account the influence of electron-absorbing dust grains. In contrast to what is claimed in recent literature, we therefore propose that magnetic field observations near Enceladus can be completely understood in terms of a local interaction model, i.e., that it is not necessary to consider the large-scale dynamics of the flux tubes in Saturn's magnetosphere. In addition, we provide first in situ evidence that the hemisphere coupling current system predicted by Saur et al. (2007) and the associated magnetic field discontinuities are indeed present at Enceladus. The field perturbations caused by these hemisphere coupling currents arise from the partial blockage of the Alfven wing at the nonconducting icy crust of Enceladus. This effect needs to be taken into account when interpreting Cassini MAG data from flybys that intersected the Enceladus flux tube and can only be reproduced by models that apply adequate boundary conditions to the surface of the icy moon.

Spontaneous toroidal rotation driven by the off-diagonal term of momentum and heat transport in the plasma with the ion internal transport barrier in LHD

A spontaneous rotation in the co-direction is observed in plasmas with an ion internal transport barrier (ITB), where the ion temperature gradient is relatively large (∂Ti/∂r ∼ 5 keV m−1 and ) in LHD. Because of the large ion temperature gradients, the magnitude of the spontaneous toroidal flow, , becomes large enough to cancel the toroidal flows driven by tangential injected neutral beams and the net toroidal rotation velocity is almost zero at the outer half of the plasma minor radius even in the plasmas with counter-dominant NB injections. The effect of velocity pinch is excluded even if it exits because of zero rotation velocity. The spontaneous toroidal flow appears in the direction of co-rotation after the formation of the ITB, not during or before the ITB formation. The causality between the change in and ∂Ti/∂r observed in this experiment clearly shows that the spontaneous rotation is driven by the ion temperature gradient as the off-diagonal terms of momentum and heat transport.

Characteristics and variability of Titan's magnetic environment

The structure and variability of Saturn's magnetic field in the vicinity of Titan's orbit is studied. In the dawn magnetosphere, the magnetic field presents a significant radial component directed towards Saturn, suggesting that Titan is usually located below the planet's warped and dynamic magnetodisc. Also, a non-negligible component along the co-rotation direction suggests that Saturn's magnetic field lines close to the magnetodisc are being swept back from their respective magnetic meridians. In the noon sector, Titan seems to be closer to the magnetodisc central current sheet, as the field lines in this region seem to be more dipolar. The distance between the central current sheet and Titan depends mainly on the solar wind pressure. Also, delta|B|/|B| approximately 0.5 amplitude waveforms at periods close to Saturn's kilometric radiation period are present in the background magnetic field. This modulation in the field is ubiquitous in Saturn's magnetosphere and associated with the presence of a rotating asymmetry in the planet's magnetic field.

Harmonics of Low Amplitude Anisotropic Wave Train Events in Cosmic Ray Intensity

The unusually low amplitude anisotropic wave train events (LAWEs) in cosmic ray intensity using the ground based Deep River neutron monitor data has been studied during the period 1991–1994. It has been observed that the amplitude of the diurnal anisotropy for LAWE events significantly remains quite low and statistically constant as compared to the quiet day annual average amplitude for majority of the events. The time of maximum of the diurnal anisotropy of LAWE significantly shifts towards earlier hours as compared to the co-rotational direction and remains in the direction of quiet day annual average anisotropy for majority of the events. On the other hand, the amplitude of the semi/tri-diurnal anisotropy remains statistically the same and high whereas, phase shift towards later hours as compared to the quiet day annual average values for majority of the LAWEs. The diurnal anisotropy vectors are found to shifts towards earlier hours for 50% of the events; whereas they are found to shifts towards later hours for rest of the events (50%) relative to the average vector for the entire period. It is also noted that the amplitude of these vectors are found to increase significantly with the shift of the diurnal anisotropy vectors towards later hours. The high-speed solar wind streams do not play a significant role in causing the LAWE events on short-term basis, however it may be responsible in causing these events on long-term basis (Mishra and Mishra 2007). Occurrence of LAWE is dominant, when the polarity of Bx and Bz remains positive and polarity of By remains negative, which is never been reported earlier. The amplitude of first harmonic shows good anti-correlation and direction of first and third harmonic shows nearly good anti-correlation with solar wind velocity, whereas the direction of second harmonic shows nearly good anti-correlation with interplanetary magnetic field strength.

Cosmic ray anisotropy and solar activity

In this paper an attempt is made to study the occurrence of a large number of high amplitude anisotropic wave train events in cosmic ray intensity during 1981-1994 and to identify a possible correlation with solar activity using the hourly neutron monitor data of Deep River station. The diurnal time of maximum for both HAE as well as for all days is found to significantly shift towards an earlier time as compared to the corotational/azimuthal direction since the year 1991 onward. It is found that diurnal amplitude and 10.7-cm solar radio flux significantly deviates and reaches to its maximum and phase remains in the corotational direction during the years close to solar activity maximum for HAE. The occurrence of high amplitude anisotropic wave train events is dominant during solar activity minimum as well as maximum years. The amplitude as well as phase of the cosmic ray diurnal anisotropy during HAEs is well correlated with solar activity. The amplitude as well as phase of diurnal anisotropy shows very nominal correlation with 10.7-cm solar radio flux (r = 0.48, 0.47). However, the frequency of occurrence of HAEs shows a very weak correlation (r = - 0.36) with 10.7-cm solar radio flux.

Unusual anisotropic wave trains in cosmic rays

Several workers have attempted to find out the possible origin of the “high amplitude wave trains” of enhanced diurnal variation of cosmic rays and to develop a suitable realistic theoretical model that can explain the different harmonics in individual days. The various observed harmonics of the cosmic-ray variation may be understood on a unified basis if the free-space cosmic-ray anisotropy is non-sinusoidal in form. The major objective of this paper is to study the first three harmonics of high-amplitude wave trains of cosmic-ray intensity over the period 1981–1994 for Deep River neutron monitoring station. The main characteristic of these events is that the high-amplitude wave trains show a maximum intensity of diurnal component in a direction earlier than 18:00 h/co-rotational direction. It is noteworthy that the amplitude significantly enhanced and the phase remains in the co-rotational direction during the years close to solar-activity maximum for first harmonic. Significant deviations have been observed in the semi-diurnal amplitude after the onset of solar-activity maximum. This leads us to conclude that the amplitude as well as direction of the first harmonic and the amplitude of second harmonic are correlated with solar-activity cycle during these HAEs. The amplitude and phase of all the three harmonics (diurnal/semi-diurnal/tri-diurnal) are not found to depend on the polarity of Bz component of interplanetary magnetic field for long-term variation. The occurrence of high-amplitude events is dominant for the positive polarity of Bz component of IMF. The occurrence of HAEs is dominant during the period of average solar-wind velocity, but their occurrence during HSSWSs cannot be denied. The possibility of occurrence of these events is more during the periods of co-rotating streams. The occurrence of HAE is dominant when Dst-index remains negative and this point is not reported earlier in the litterature. All the high amplitude events occurred, when geomagnetic activity index, Ap, remains ⩽20.

Harmonics of exceptionaly low amplitude anisotropic wave train events in cosmic ray intensity

The unusually low amplitude anisotropic wave train events (LAEs) in cosmic ray intensity using the ground based Deep River neutron monitor data has been studied during the period 1991–94. It has been observed that the phase of the diurnal anisotropy for the majority of the LAE events remains in the co-rotational direction. However, for some of the LAE events the phase of the diurnal anisotropy shifts towards earlier hours as compared to the annual average values. On the other hand, the amplitude of the semi-diurnal anisotropy remains statistically the same, whereas phase shift-towards later hours; a similar trend has also been found in case of tri-diurnal anisotropy. The high-speed solar wind streams do not play a significant role in causing the LAE events. The occurrence of LAE is independent of the nature of the Bz component of IMF polarity.

Mass release at Jupiter: Substorm‐like processes in the Jovian magnetotail

The Jupiter orbiting spacecraft Galileo has provided evidence that the Jovian magnetotail is subject to a periodic process with typical timescales of several days by which the Jovian system is presumably releasing its excess iogenic mass. The mass release process resembles a terrestrial substorm in the sense of a global reconfiguration of the magnetotail. During the initial “loading” phase the plasma convection is at a moderate speed in the corotation direction and the Jovian plasma sheet appears to be in a stable configuration. In the release phase, reconnection through a thinned current sheet leads to radially inward and outward plasma flows and the ejection of plasmoids. Storage of magnetic energy in the lobe region seems not to be the prime driver of the reconfiguration process. Therefore the role of the solar wind as energy source is of less importance than for terrestrial substorms. Instead, it can be envisaged that plasma loading of fast rotating magnetic flux tubes and the associated centrifugal forces drive the reconfiguration process.