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GEOTAIL observation of ring‐shaped ion distribution functions in the plasma sheet‐lobe boundary
Author(s) -
Saito Yoshifumi,
Mukai Toshifumi,
Hirahara Masafumi,
Machida Shinobu,
Nishida Atsuhiro,
Terasawa Toshio,
Kokubun Susumu,
Yamamoto Tatsundo
Publication year - 1994
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 - 10.1029/94gl02099
Subject(s) - plasma sheet , ion , plasma , atomic physics , ring (chemistry) , lobe , physics , boundary layer , proton , molecular physics , magnetosphere , chemistry , mechanics , nuclear physics , anatomy , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , medicine
The ring‐shaped velocity distribution of ions with energies of a few keV of the gyrating motion has at times been detected in the boundary region between the plasma sheet and the lobe in the distant tail at X GSM ∼ −70 and −170Re. The normal direction of the ring‐shaped distribution is almost parallel to the magnetic field, and the distribution moves tailward. In many cases the fast flowing ions of the Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer (PSBL) are observed simultaneously. The density of the ring is comparable to the density of the cold ion stream observed in the lobe. We discuss the possibility that these ring ions are generated from cold proton streams by the thermoelectric field that exists at the plasma sheet‐lobe boundary.