Test particle acceleration in a magnetotail reconnection configuration

Journal Article · Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1989 · Geophysical Research Letters; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/GL016i009p01027· OSTI ID:5594092

Sachsenweger, D; Scholer, M; Mobius, E ^[1]

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1. Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, Max-Planck-Institut fur Physik und Astrophysik, Garching, FRG (DE)

AMPTE/IRM measurements during a period of strong magnetic activity on April 8, 1985 exhibit a significant hardening of the energy spectra of all detected ion species (H{sup +}, He{sup 2+}, He{sup +}, O{sup +}) following substorm expansion. In order to explain these observations in the framework of the substorm neutral line model, single-particle trajectories of various ions (H{sup +}, He{sup 2+}, O{sup +}) are followed numerically in the time-dependent electric and magnetic fields obtained from a two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of magnetotail reconnection. Current sheet acceleration of a suitable plasma sheet ion distribution can explain the observed ordering of the flux increase of the various species in energy per charge. Starting from a cold lobe population, however, current sheet acceleration cannot account for the differential ion intensities observed after substorm expansion. {copyright} American Geophysical Union 1989

• OSTI ID: 5594092
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters; (USA), Vol. 16:10; ISSN 0094-8276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
MAGNETOTAIL
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ENERGY SPECTRA
HELIUM IONS
HYDROGEN IONS
MAGNETIC STORMS
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
OXYGEN IONS
PLASMA SHEET
TIME DEPENDENCE
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
IONS
MECHANICS
SPECTRA
640201* - Atmospheric Physics- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena