Open AccessSignatures of nonlinear charged particle dynamics in Geotail comprehensive plasma instrument observations
Author(s) -
Holland D. L.,
Paterson W. R.,
Frank L. A.,
Kokubun S.,
Yamamoto Y.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/1998ja900040
Subject(s) - physics , current sheet , plasma sheet , particle (ecology) , computational physics , nonlinear system , geophysics , particle acceleration , distribution function , signature (topology) , current (fluid) , magnetosphere , plasma , acceleration , classical mechanics , geology , geometry , magnetohydrodynamics , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics , oceanography , mathematics , thermodynamics
In this paper we present simulation results and observational data from the Geotail comprehensive plasma instrument of an ion distribution function signature which arises due to nonlinear particle dynamics in the quiet time magnetotail. The signature manifests itself as peaks and valleys in the ion distribution function whose separation scales as the fourth root of the particle energy. The Geotail observations represent the first independent corroboration of this signature since it was seen in ISEE 1 data by Chen et al. [1990]. The simulations demonstrate that the signature is present in the pitch‐angle‐resolved distribution even in the case of perfectly symmetric particle sources in the northern and southern hemispheres. When combined with magnetometer data, we show how the peaks and valleys may be used to determine the current sheet thickness using a single satellite. The current sheet thickness determined in this fashion is less than but consistent with other measurements of the current sheet.