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Energy conversion at dipolarization fronts
Author(s) -
Khotyaintsev Yu. V.,
Divin A.,
Vaivads A.,
André M.,
Markidis S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl071909
Subject(s) - physics , energy transformation , front (military) , jet (fluid) , instability , plasma , electric field , electromagnetic field , energy (signal processing) , computational physics , excited state , atomic physics , electromagnetic radiation , geophysics , mechanics , optics , meteorology , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
We use multispacecraft observations by Cluster in the Earth's magnetotail and 3‐D particle‐in‐cell simulations to investigate conversion of electromagnetic energy at the front of a fast plasma jet. We find that the major energy conversion is happening in the Earth (laboratory) frame, where the electromagnetic energy is being transferred from the electromagnetic field to particles. This process operates in a region with size of the order several ion inertial lengths across the jet front, and the primary contribution to E · j is coming from the motional electric field and the ion current. In the frame of the front we find fluctuating energy conversion with localized loads and generators at sub‐ion scales which are primarily related to the lower hybrid drift instability excited at the front; however, these provide relatively small net energy conversion.