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Polar cap patch segmentation of the tongue of ionization in the morning convection cell
Author(s) -
Zhang Q.H.,
Zhang B.C.,
Moen J.,
Lockwood M.,
McCrea I. W.,
Yang H.G.,
Hu H.Q.,
Liu R.Y.,
Zhang S.R.,
Lester M.
Publication year - 2013
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/grl.50616
Subject(s) - cusp (singularity) , ionization , electron density , convection , physics , plasma , morning , electron , type (biology) , astrophysics , geology , mechanics , geometry , ion , astronomy , mathematics , paleontology , quantum mechanics
Two types of poleward moving plasma concentration enhancements (PMPCEs) were observed during a sequence of pulsed reconnection events, both in the morning convection cell: Type L (low density) was associated with a cusp flow channel and seems likely to have been produced by ionization associated with particle precipitation, while Type H (high density) appeared to originate from the segmentation of the tongue of ionization by the processes which produced the Type L events. As a result, the Type L and Type H PMPCEs were interspersed, producing a complex density structure which underlines the importance of cusp flow channels as a mechanism for segmenting and structuring electron density in the cusp and shows the necessity of differentiating between at least two classes of electron density patches.