Premium
On the structure of the magnetotail current sheet
Author(s) -
AshourAbdalla M.,
Zelenyi L. M.,
Peroomian V.,
Richard R. L.
Publication year - 1993
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 - 10.1029/93gl01695
Subject(s) - current sheet , anisotropy , physics , current (fluid) , tensor (intrinsic definition) , magnetic field , ion , field (mathematics) , diagonal , mechanics , computational physics , classical mechanics , geophysics , magnetohydrodynamics , geometry , mathematics , optics , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics , thermodynamics
Results from modeling ion distribution functions in a two‐dimensional reduction of the Tsyganenko [1989] magnetic field model have enabled us to calculate the full ion pressure tensor inside the model magnetotail. A thin current sheet is formed in the distant tail and the pressure tensor within this sheet has significant off‐diagonal terms. These terms resulting from quasiadiabatic ion trajectories create azimuthally asymmetric distribution functions which are capable of maintaining stress‐balance. Outside the current sheet the off‐diagonal terms disappear and moderate anisotropy builds up with P ⟂ /P ∥ ∼ 0.8. Closer to the Earth rapid isotropization of the distribution occurs.