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ULF Waves Modulating and Acting as Mass Spectrometer for Dayside Ionospheric Outflow Ions
Author(s) -
Liu Z.Y.,
Zong Q.G.,
Zhou X.Z.,
Hao Y. X.,
Yau A. W.,
Zhang H.,
Chen X.R.,
Fu S. Y.,
Pollock C. J.,
Le G.,
Ergun R. E.,
Lindqvist P.A.
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1029/2019gl083849
Subject(s) - magnetosphere , outflow , ionosphere , physics , geophysics , polarization (electrochemistry) , ion , computational physics , atmospheric sciences , plasma , meteorology , chemistry , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics
Ionospheric outflow has been shown to be a dominant ion source of Earth's magnetosphere. However, most studies in the literature are about ionospheric outflow injected into the nightside magnetosphere. We still know little about ionospheric outflow injected into the dayside magnetosphere and its further energization after it enters the magnetosphere. Here, with data from Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we report direct observations of the modulation of dayside ionospheric outflow ions by ultralow frequency (ULF) waves. The observations indicate that the modulation is mass dependent, which demonstrates the possibility of using ULF waves as a mass spectrometer to identify ion species. Moreover, the measurement suggests that polarization drift may play a role in O + modulation, which may lead to a true acceleration and even nonadiabatic behavior of O + . This interaction scenario can work throughout the whole magnetosphere and impact upon the plasma environment and dynamics.