Substorm effects in MHD and test particle simulations of magnetotail dynamics
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, MD (United States). Goddard Space Flight Center
Recent magnetohydrodynamic simulations demonstrate that a global tail instability, initiated by localized breakdown of MHD, can cause plasmoid formation and ejection as well as dipolarization and the current diversion of the substorm current wedge. The connection between the reconnection process and the current wedge signatures is provided by earthward flow from the reconnection site. Its braking and diversion in the inner magnetosphere causes dipolarization and the magnetic field distortions of the current wedge. The authors demonstrate the characteristic properties of this process and the current systems involved. The strong localized electric field associated with the flow burst and the dipolarization is also the cause of particle acceleration and energetic particle injections. Test particle simulations of orbits in the MHD fields yield results that are quite consistent with observed injection signatures.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States); National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 296780
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-98-2126; CONF-9805129-; ON: DE99000754; TRN: 99:002486
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICS-4: international conference on substorms, Tokyo (Japan), 15 May 1998; Other Information: PBD: [1998]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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