Boundary layers as the primary transport regions of the earth's magnetotail. Progress report

Technical Report · Tue Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5728023

Eastman, T E; Frank, L A; Huang, C Y

A comprehensive survey of ISEE and IMP LEPEDEA plasma measurements in the earth's magnetotail reveals that the magnetospheric boundary layer and the plasma sheet boundary layer are the primary transport regions there. These plasma measurements also distinguish various components of the plasma sheet, including the central plasma sheet and plasma sheet boundary layer. A significant new result reported here is the existence of cold-and hot-plasma components that are spatially copresent within the central plasma sheet. Such plasma components cannot be explained merely by temporal variations in spectra involving the entire plasma sheet. Contributions to a low-temperature component of the plasma sheet enter directly from the boundary layer located along the magnetotail flanks. Field-aligned flows predominate within the plasma sheet boundary layer, which is almost always present and is located near the northern and southern border of the plasma sheet. The plasma sheet boundary layer comprises highly anisotropic ion distributions, including countersteaming ion beams, that evolve into the hot, isotropic component of the plasma sheet. Tailward acceleration regions generate these ion beams with plasma input from the magnetospheric boundary layer. Antisunward flowing ion beams are frequently observed in the plasma sheet boundary layer and in the tail lobes.

• Research Organization: Iowa Univ., Iowa City (USA). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
• OSTI ID: 5728023
• Report Number(s): AD-A-163500/2/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640203* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (-1987)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ACCELERATION
ALIGNMENT
ANISOTROPY
BEAMS
BOUNDARY LAYERS
CHARGED PARTICLES
DISTRIBUTION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
HIGH TEMPERATURE
ION BEAMS
IONS
LAYERS
LOW TEMPERATURE
MAGNETOTAIL
PLASMA DRIFT
PLASMASPHERE
SURVEYS