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Energetic ion beam in the Earth’s magnetotail lobe
Author(s) -
Lui A. T. Y.,
Krimigis S. M.
Publication year - 1983
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/gl010i001p00013
Subject(s) - ion , flux (metallurgy) , physics , atomic physics , beam (structure) , population , ion beam , spectral line , plasma , substorm , materials science , magnetosphere , nuclear physics , optics , astronomy , quantum mechanics , demography , sociology , metallurgy
Occurence of a prominent peak in the ion energy spectrum at energies of 0.1 to 0.7 MeV is observed by the IMP‐8 spacecraft during an energetic particle burst in a plasma “dropout” interval at about 37 R e in the earth’s magnetotail. This unusual characteristic in the spectrum is detected for about 2 minutes. By fitting the observed ion spectra to a drifting Kappa distribution, it is found that the ion population can be described as a hot beam with number densities 4 × 10 −7 to 5 × 10 −4 cm −3 and temperatures 15 to 45 keV, jetting tailward at speeds of 3500 to 7000 km/s. The energy flux density associated with the beam can be as high as 8 × 10 −2 ergs cm −2 sec −1 .