Ion dynamics associated with substorm dipolarization fronts

We report where and how ions are accelerated in the proximity of earthward propagating dipolarization fronts(DFs) in the magnetotail during a magnetospheric substorm on February 15, 2008. Two DFs were observed by multiple THEMIS spacecraft in the near-Earth magnetotail(~?10 Re). We studied the ion dynamics associated with these DFs by comparing observed results with large scale kinetic(LSK) simulation results. The LSK simulation reproduced the sudden ion energy flux enhancement concurrent with the arrival of the DF at the satellite locations. We found that ions can be accelerated to more than 100 keV energy at the DF. These ions were initially non-adiabatically accelerated near magnetic reconnection site and then still non-adiabatically accelerated at the DF structure.     

A statistical study of field-aligned electron beams associated with ion conies events

A statistical study of field-aligned electron beams associated with upflowing ion conics is presented from Exos-D (Akebono) observations below 10 000 km. The electron beams are narrowly collimated along the field line and generally have energies of several tens of eV. They are divided in the analysis into three types: upflowing, downflowing, and counterstreaming. All the types of electron beams are almost equivalent in their energy and pitch angle characteristics and their association rate with upflowing ion events. About 50% of ion conies are found to be coincident with field-aligned electron beams. There is also a correlation in energy between the field-aligned electrons and ion conics. These show that the association is not a mere coincidence but rather that the field-aligned acceleration of electrons is related to the perpendicular energization of ions. The association rate of upflowing electrons is high on the nightside, while that of downflowing electrons is high on the dayside. The association rate of downflowing electrons is high at low altitudes, and the rates of the three types of electron beams become equivalent at high altitudes. Data indicate that the height of the electron acceleration region is lower on the nightside. It is suggested that the average height of the electron acceleration region is around the satellite apogee (–10000 km), and the average thickness of the region is about thousands km.     

Dynamics of the spatial distribution of electrons and their gyrosynchrotron emission characteristics in a collapsing magnetic trap

The dynamics of the distribution of nonthermal electrons, injected into a collapsing magnetic trap, has been considered. The electron energy and pitch angle nonstationary spatial distributions in an extensive magnetic trap have been obtained for the first time for different laws of inhomogeneous magnetic field evolution in this trap by numerically solving the Fokker-Planck kinetic equation. The gyrosynchrotron emission intensity has been calculated for the obtained electron spatial distributions. It has been indicated that energetic electrons are effectively accumulated and accelerated at the top of a collapsing trap due to the first-order Fermi and betatron acceleration mechanisms at certain rates of variations in the magnetic field and background plasma density.     

高能电子爆发与绕月卫星表面电位大幅下降的联动效应

"嫦娥"一号、二号绕月飞行经历地球磁尾边界层区域时,分别在2007年11月26日—2008年2月5日和2010年10月3日—2011年2月28日,发现了15次月球轨道0.1~2 MeV电子急剧增加(Bursts of 0.1~2 MeV Energetic Electrons,BEE),卫星周围等离子体离子加速的现象.统计研究表明,这类现象发生在稳定太阳风和弱行星际磁场条件下,且无显著空间环境扰动事件发生时,离子的加速滞后于高能电子爆发,离子能量的变化与高能电子通量的时间演化正相关,地球磁鞘内侧或边界层过渡区域是该类现象的高发区,离子能量增加时卫星表面电位大幅下降可达负几千伏.为了研究高能电子爆发与绕月卫星表面电位变化的关系及其对月球表面电位的影响,本文用电流平衡法建立绕月卫星和月球表面充电模型,并假设能量电子(2eV~2 MeV)满足幂律谱的分布,模拟急剧增加的能量电子对卫星和月球表面电位的影响.模拟结果表明,能量电子急剧增加使得绕月卫星和月球表面电位大幅下降;能量电子总流量1011 cm-2时,绕月卫星和月球表面充电电位可达负上千伏;月球充电到大的负电位的时间仅为卫星充电时间的1/10.鉴于高能电子急剧增加事件的高发生率(~125次/年),能量电子急剧增加使得绕月卫星表面电位大幅下降的发生率应大于实测等离子体离子加速现象的发生率(~25次/年).     

地球磁层顶磁场重联的动力学过程

用三维可压缩MHD数值模拟研究了在磁场重联过程中电子压力梯度项的效应研究结果发现在较高等离子体β,较小离子惯性尺度条件下,广义欧姆定理中压力梯度项在重联过程的作用不可忽略.在磁重联过程中,压力梯度项虽然没有明显改变磁场拓扑结构和重联速度,但它使电子和离子速度明显增大.由于在离子惯性尺度下,离子和电子运动解耦,电子是电流的主要载流子,所以场向电流也增大,并导致核心磁场明显增大.考虑到场向电流是磁层电离层耦合的一个重要因素,所以电子压力梯度项的引入加强了行星际磁场南向期间磁层电离层的耦合.电子压力梯度项还在重联区激发了波动,该波动可向重联区外传播.     

磁场偶极化过程中磁尾离子加速:Ⅱ上行离子速度和能量的变化

根据采用动力学方程对亚暴期间磁尾磁场向偶极形弛豫过程中离子分布函数的模拟结果 ,研究了磁尾来自电离层的O+,H+和He+离子的速度及能量随时间的变化 .主要结果为 :（1 ）离子的加速及能量变化主要发生在磁场偶极化过程的中期 ,对应的地心距离位于- 1 2RE到 - 8RE 之间 ;（2 ）垂直于磁场方向上离子加速及能量变化较快 ,平行方向上较慢 ;（3）轻离子较重离子加速及能量变化快 ,磁场偶极化终结 ,3种离子的能量均可增加 2 0 0倍左右 ;（4）初始能量较高时 ,离子加速及能量变化较快 ,离子最终获得的能量较大 .理论计算的磁尾离子能量在磁场偶极化过程终了可达 1 0 2 keV的量级 ,这与观测结果一致 .     

低地球轨道（LEO）的大型航天器充电

本文根据ＬＥＯ中等离子体温度低，密度高，德拜长度小的特点，采用薄鞘层近似，计算了离子收集电流；根据电流平衡方程，考虑表面二次电子发射，计算了大型航天器表面在沉降电子流辐照下的充电特性。     

磁场重联中电子加速问题的物理分析和数值研究

观测表明耀斑中电子加速发生在软X射线耀斑环上方的磁重联区域.在重联电流片中被super Dreicer电场直接加速似乎是产生能量在10keV～10MeV之间高能电子的最直接的方式.本文的结果证明纵向电磁场可以有效地将电子“锁”在重联电流片上，使得横向电场得以直接加速电子.对于解释产生相对论性粒子的脉冲式耀斑，这可能是一个有效的机制.     

磁尾中交换不稳定性所产生偶极化锋面的动力学特性研究

本文利用考虑了Hall效应和有限Larmor半径（FLR）效应的磁流体数值模拟研究了在离子惯性长度/离子Larmor半径尺度内偶极化锋面的动力学特性.偶极化锋面由磁尾近地区域中由于热压尾向梯度和磁场曲率力不平衡所引起的交换不稳定性自洽产生.数值研究表明,偶极化锋面是切向间断,在相对该锋面结构静止的参考系中等离子体穿过偶极化锋面的法向速度为零.Hall效应主要影响与偶极化锋面的切平面相正交的电场,使得锋面切向电流增大,同时产生锋面结构不对称.研究表明离子在Larmor半径尺度产生的FLR效应可导致锋面结构的大尺度漂移运动.由FLR效应产生的离子磁化流速在偶极化锋面的日下点处指向昏向,锋面后区域的速度晨向分量增长,从而导致整个锋面结构向晨向漂移.     

Latest progress on interactions between VLF/ELF waves and energetic electrons in the inner magnetosphere

Interactions between very/extremely low frequency (VLF/ELF) waves and energetic electrons play a fundamental role in dynamics occurring in the inner magnetosphere. Here, we briefly discuss global properties of VLF/ELF waves, along with the variability of the electron radiation belts associated with wave-particle interactions and radial diffusion. We provide cases of electron loss and acceleration as a result of wave-particle interactions primarily due to such waves, and particularly some preliminary results...     

垂直无碰撞激波的离子加速机制

利用一维全粒子模拟得到的垂直无碰撞激波的位形,通过试验粒子方法研究了不同初始能量粒子的激波加速机制.将与激波相互作用的离子分成反射和直接穿过两类,发现只有被激波反射的离子可被激波明显加速,其中初始能量较小的反射离子通过激波冲浪机制加速,而初始能量较大的离子通过激波漂移加速机制加速.同时激波厚度还对离子被加速过程有重要影响.     

磁场重联中的电子加速机制的数值模拟研究

在应用2.5维混合模拟方法研究Petschek模型磁场重联的基础上,考察了试验电子被加速的特征. 模拟结果表明,稳态的低频重联场能将少量试验电子加速到高能,电子的能谱为幂律谱,但总体分布函数未发生显著变化. 电子在整个加速过程中被束缚在低磁场的加速区内,由重联产生的感应电场Ey分量对其直接加速,根据加速时间和加速区域可以将这些电子分为两种情况：初始位于加速区和漂移到加速区被加速.     

Injection and acceleration of H+ and He2+ at Earth’s bow shock

We have performed a number of one-dimensional hybrid simulations (particle ions, massless electron fluid) of quasi-parallel collisionless shocks in order to investigate the injection and subsequent acceleration of part of the solar wind ions at the Earth’s bow shock. The shocks propagate into a medium containing magnetic fluctuations, which are initially superimposed on the background field, as well as generated or enhanced by the electromagnetic ion/ion beam instability between the solar wind and backstreaming ions. In order to study the mass (M) and charge (Q) dependence of the acceleration process He²⁺ is included self-consistently. The upstream differential intensity spectra of H⁺ and He²⁺ can be well represented by exponentials in energy. The e-folding energy E_c is a function of time: E_c increases with time. Furthermore the e-folding energy (normalized to the shock ramming energy E_p) increases with increasing Alfvén Mach number of the shock and with increasing fluctuation level of the initially superimposed turbulence. When backstreaming ions leave the shock after their first encounter they exhibit already a spectrum which extends to more than ten times the shock ramming energy and which is ordered in energy per charge. From the injection spectrum it is concluded that leakage of heated downstream particles does not contribute to ion injection. Acceleration models that permit thermal particles to scatter like the non-thermal population do not describe the correct physics.     

Simultaneous measurements from the Millstone Hill radar and the Active satellite during the SAID/SAR arc event of the March 1990 CEDAR storm

During a nearby passage of the Active satellite above the Millstone Hill radar on 21 March 1990 at local sunset, the satellite and the radar performed simultaneous measurements of upper ionospheric parameters in nearly the same spatial volume. For this purpose the radar carried out a special azimuth-elevation scan to track the satellite. Direct comparisons of radar data and in situ satellite measurements have been carried out quite rarely. In this case, the coincidence of co-ordinated measurements and active ionospheric-magnetospheric processes during an extended storm recovery phase presents a unique occasion resulting in a very valuable data set. The measurements show generally good agreement both during quiet prestorm and storm conditions and the combination of radar and satellite observations gives a more comprehensive picture of the physical processes involved. We find a close relationship between the rapid westward ion drift peak at subauroral latitudes (SAID event) and the occurrence of a stable auroral red (SAR) arc observed after sunset by an all-sky imager and reported in an earlier study of this event. The SAID electric field is caused by the penetration of energetic ions with energies between about 1 keV and 100 keV into the outer plasmasphere to a latitude equatorward of the extent of the plasmasheet electrons. Charge separation results in the observed polarisation field and the SAID. Unusually high molecular ion densities measured by the satellite at altitudes of 700–870 km at subauroral and auroral latitudes point on strong upward-directed ion acceleration processes and an intense neutral gas upwelling. These structures are collocated with a narrow trough in electron density and an electron temperature peak as observed simultaneously by the radar and the satellite probes.     

Observations of substorm fine structure

Particle and magnetic field measurements on the CRRES satellite were used, together with geosynchronous satellites and ground-based observations, to investigate the fine structure of a magnetospheric substorm on February 9, 1991. Using the variations in the electron fluxes, the substorm activity was divided into several intensifications lasting about 3–15 minutes each. The two main features of the data were: (1) the intensifications showed internal fine structure in the time scale of about 2 minutes or less. We call these shorter periods activations. Energetic electrons and protons at the closest geosynchronous spacecraft (1990 095) were found to have comparable activation structure. (2) The energetic (> 69 keV) proton injections were delayed with respect to electron injections, and actually coincided in time with the end of the intensifications and partial returns to locally more stretched field line configuration. We propose that the energetic protons could be able to control the dynamics of the system locally be quenching the ongoing intensification and possibly preparing the final large-scale poleward movement of the activity. It was also shown that these protons originated from the same intensification as the preceeding electrons. Therefore, the substorm instability responsible for the intensifications could introduce a negative feedback loop into the system, creating the observed fine structure with the intensification time scales.     

The polar wind: Recent observations

The polar wind is an ambipolar outflow of thermal plasma from the high-latitude ionosphere to the magnetosphere, and it primarily consists of H⁺, He⁺ and O⁺ ions and electrons. Statistical and episodic studies based primarily on ion composition observations on the ISIS-2, DE-1, Akebono and Polar satellites over the past four decades have confirmed the existence of the polar wind. These observations spanned the altitude range from 1000 to ∼50,500 km, and revealed several important features in the polar wind that are unexpected from “classical” polar wind theories. These include the day–night asymmetry in polar wind velocity, which is 1.5–2.0 times larger on the dayside; appreciable O⁺ flow at high altitudes, where the velocity at 5000–10,000 km is of 1–4 km/s; and significant electron temperature anisotropy in the sunlit polar wind, in which the upward-to-downward electron temperature ratio is 1.5–2. These features are attributable to a number of “non-classical” polar wind ion acceleration mechanisms resulting from strong ionospheric convection, enhanced electron and ion temperatures, and escaping atmospheric photoelectrons. The observed polar wind has an averaged ion temperature of ∼0.2–0.3 eV, and a rate of ion velocity increase with altitude that correlates strongly with electron temperature and is greatest at low altitudes (<4000 km for H⁺). The rate of velocity increase below 4000 km is larger at solar minimum than at solar maximum. Above 4000 km, the reverse is the case. This suggests that the dominant polar wind ion acceleration process may be different at low and high altitudes, respectively. At a given altitude, the polar wind velocity is highly variable, and is on average largest for H⁺ and smallest for O⁺. Near solar maximum, H⁺, He⁺, and O⁺ ions typically reach a velocity of 1 km/s near 2000, 3000, and 6000 km, respectively, and velocities of 12, 7, and 4 km/s, respectively, at 10,000 km altitude. Near solar minimum, the velocity of all three species is smaller at high altitudes. Observationally it is not always possible to unambiguously separate an energized “non-polar-wind” ion such as a low-energy “cleft ion fountain” ion that has convected into a polar wind flux tube from an energized “polar-wind” ion that is accelerated locally by “non-classical” polar-wind ion acceleration mechanisms. Significant questions remain on the relative contribution between the cleft ion fountain, auroral bulk upflow, and the topside polar-cap ionosphere to the O⁺ polar wind population at high altitudes, the effect of positive spacecraft charging on the lowest-energy component of the H⁺ polar wind population, and the relative importance of the various classical and non-classical ion acceleration mechanisms. These questions pose several challenges in future polar wind observations: These include measurement of the lowest-energy component in the presence of positive spacecraft potential, definitive determination and if possible active control of the spacecraft potential, definitive discrimination between polar wind and other inter-mixed thermal ion populations, measurement of the three-dimensional ion drift velocity vector and the parallel and perpendicular ion temperatures or the detailed three-dimensional velocity distribution function, and resolution of He⁺ and other minor ion species in the polar wind population.     

惯性区低-β等离子体中的动力学Alfvén孤波

运用双流体MHD方程描述电子和离子的行为, 采用非扰动理论, 把孤子看作经典粒子, 通过推导的赝势(也称Sagdeev势)方程, 结合数值计算来研究惯性区低-β等离子体中动力学Alfvén孤波的特性. 结果表明离子热效应对Alfvén孤波特性的影响不可忽略, 且在惯性区稀疏型孤波和压缩型孤波均存在. 此结论与Freja卫星在极区上空所观测结果吻合很好. Alfvén孤波携带有平行电场, 它对带电粒子的加速有重要作用, 这给极光粒子加速提供了一种可能的物理机制.     

Theoretical developments on the causes of ionospheric outflow

It is now well known that there is a substantial outflow of ionospheric plasma from the terrestrial ionosphere at high latitudes. The outflow consists of light thermal ions (H⁺, He⁺) as well as both light and heavy energized ions (H⁺, He⁺, O⁺, N⁺, NO⁺, O₂⁺, N₂⁺). The thermal ion outflows tend to be associated with the classical polar wind, while the energized ions are probably associated with either auroral energization processes or nonclassical polar wind processes. Part of the problem with identifying the exact cause of a given outflow relates to the fact that the ionosphere continuously convects into and out of the various high-latitude regions (sunlight, cusp, polar cap, nocturnal oval) and the time-constant for outflow is comparable to the convection time. Therefore, it is difficult to separate and quantify the possible outflow mechanisms. Some of these mechanisms are as follows. In sunlit regions, the photoelectrons can heat the thermal electrons and the elevated electron temperature acts to increase the polar wind outflow rate. At high altitudes, the escaping photoelectrons can also accelerate the polar wind as they drag the thermal ions with them. In the cusp and auroral oval, the precipitating magnetospheric electrons can heat the thermal electrons in a manner similar to the photoelectrons. Also, energized ions, in the form of beams and conics, can be created in association with field-aligned auroral currents and potential structures. The cusp ion beams and conics that have been convected into the polar cap can destabilize the polar wind when they pass through it at high altitudes, thereby transferring energy to the thermal ions. Additional energization mechanisms in the polar cap include Joule heating, hot magnetospheric electrons and ions, electromagnetic wave turbulence, and centrifugal acceleration.Some of these causes of ionospheric outflow will be briefly reviewed, with the emphasis on the recent simulations of polar wind dynamics in convecting flux tubes of plasma.