A. M. Tian

Solar wind pressure pulse‐driven magnetospheric vortices and their global consequences

We report the in situ observation of a plasma vortex induced by a solar wind dynamic pressure enhancement in the nightside plasma sheet using multipoint measurements from Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) satellites. The vortex has a scale of 5–10 Re and propagates several Re downtail, expanding while propagating. The features of the vortex are consistent with the prediction of the Sibeck (1990) model, and the vortex can penetrate deep (~8 Re) in the dawn-dusk direction and couple to field line oscillations. Global magnetohydrodynamics simulations are carried out, and it is found that the simulation and observations are consistent with each other. Data from THEMIS ground magnetometer stations indicate a poleward propagating vortex in the ionosphere, with a rotational sense consistent with the existence of the vortex observed in the magnetotail.

Magnetospheric vortices and their global effect after a solar wind dynamic pressure decrease

Using multipoint data from three Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) satellites, we report a magnetospheric flow vortex driven by a negative solar wind dynamic pressure pulse. The observed vortex rotated in a direction opposite to that associated with positive solar wind dynamic pressure pulses. The vortex was moving tailward, as confirmed by a global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation. In addition, the equivalent ionospheric currents (EICs) deduced from ground magnetometer station data reveal that a current vortex in the ionosphere near the foot point of the satellites has a rotation sense consistent with that observed in the magnetosphere. The field-aligned current (FAC) density estimated from three THEMIS satellites is about 0.15nA/m(2), and the total FAC of the vortex is about 1.5-3x10(5)A, on the order of the total FAC in a pseudobreakup, but less than the total FAC in most moderate substorms, 10(6)A. Key Points

Dayside magnetospheric and ionospheric responses to solar wind pressure increase: Multispacecraft and ground observations

We provide in-situ observations of the transient phenomena in the dayside magnetosphere during the preliminary impulse (PI) and main impulse (MI) event on 30 September 2008. The PI and MI geomagnetic signals are induced by twin traveling convection vortices (TCVs) with opposite polarities in the equivalent ionospheric currents (EICs) due to a sudden increase of the solar wind dynamic pressure. The two PIs associated ionospheric current vortices centered at ~07 magnetic local time(MLT), 67° magnetic latitude (MLAT) in the dawn side and ~14 MLT, 73°MLAT in dusk side, respectively. The dawnside MI current vortex centered at ~68° MLAT and 6 MLT, while the duskside vortex center was traveling poleward from ~67° MLAT to ~75° MLAT at a speed of ~5.6-7.4 km/s around 14 MLT . It is found that both dawn side PI and MI related current vortices were azimuthally seen up to 4 MLT. Following the magnetosphere sudden impulse (SI), clockwise flow vortex with a radial scale larger than 3 Re, associated with positive field-aligned current (FAC) was observed by THEMIS spacecraft in the outer dayside magnetosphere. The flow vortex expanded and traveled tailward in the magnetosphere, also being reproduced with global MHD simulations. Based on both observation and simulation technique, we show that the MI related FACs are correlated with the large scale flow vortex. The PI FACs are partially provided by the mode conversion of fast mode waves into the Alfven waves near the equatorial plane. While, most of it may be generated at a higher latitude region in the magnetosphere.

Propagation of small size magnetic holes in the magnetospheric plasma sheet

Magnetic holes (MHs), characteristic structures where the magnetic field magnitude decreases significantly, have been frequently observed in space plasmas. Particularly, small size magnetic holes (SSMHs) which the scale is less than or close to the proton gyroradius are recently detected in the magnetospheric plasma sheet. In this study of Cluster observations, by the timing method, the minimum directional difference (MDD) method, and the spatiotemporal difference (STD) method, we obtain the propagation velocity of SSMHs in the plasma flow frame. Furthermore, based on electron magnetohydrodynamics (EMHD) theory we calculate the velocity, width, and depth of the electron solitary wave and compare it to SSMH observations. The result shows a good accord between the theory and the observation.

Outward expansion of the lunar wake: ARTEMIS observations

Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) predicts that lunar wake expands outward at magnetosonic velocities in all directions perpendicular to background solar wind; however, fluid theories emphasize that lunar wake expands outward at sound speeds mainly along the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Early observations supported the MHD predictions in the near-moon region despite lack of solar wind and IMF observations. Thanks to the special orbit design of the ARTEMIS mission, the solar wind conditions are well determined at the time of concurrent observations in the lunar wake. 164 wake crossings made by ARTEMIS are statistically studied in this paper. Observations indicated that, in either distant or near-Moon regions, the lunar wake expands outward at the fast MHD wave velocities. This simple model provides a powerful way to determine wake boundaries, particularly at large distances where the boundary signatures are indistinct, thus allowing further studies on the Moon-solar wind/crustal field-solar wind interactions. Citation: Zhang, H., et al. (2012), Outward expansion of the lunar wake: ARTEMIS observations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L18104, doi: 10.1029/2012GL052839.

Propagation characteristics of young hot flow anomalies near the bow shock: Cluster observations

Based on Cluster observations, the propagation velocities and normal directions of hot flow anomaly (HFA) boundaries upstream the Earths bow shock are calculated. Twenty-one young HFAs, which have clear leading and trailing boundaries, were selected, and multispacecraft timing method considering errors was employed for the investigation. According to the difference in the propagation velocity of the leading and trailing edges, we categorized these events into three groups, namely, contracting, expanding, and stable events. The contraction speed is a few tens of kilometers per second for the contracting HFAs, and the expansion speed is tens to more than hundred kilometers per second for expanding events. For the stable events, the leading and trailing edges propagate at almost the same speed within the error range. We have further investigated what causes them to contract, expand, or stay stable by carefully calculating the thermal pressure of the young HFAs which have two distinct ion populations (solar wind beam and reflected flow). It is found that the extreme value of the sum of the magnetic and thermal pressure inside the HFAs compared with that of the nearest point outside of the leading edges is higher for expanding events and lower for contracting events, and there is no significant difference for the stable events, and the total pressure (sum of thermal, magnetic, and dynamic pressure) variation has a significant effect on the evolution for most (70%) of the HFAs, which implies that the pressure plays an important role in the evolution of young HFAs.

Shape and position of Earth’s bow shock near-lunar orbit based on ARTEMIS data

Earth’s bow shock is the result of interaction between the supersonic solar wind and Earth’s magnetopause. However, data limitations mean the model of the shape and position of the bow shock are based largely on near-Earth satellite data. The model of the bow shock in the distant magnetotail and other factors that affect the bow shock, such as the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) By, remain unclear. Here, based on the bow shock crossings of ARTEMIS from January 2011 to January 2015, new coefficients of the tail-flaring angle α of the Chao model (one of the most accurate models currently available) were obtained by fitting data from the middle-distance magnetotail (near-lunar orbit, geocentric distance -20RE>X>-50RE). In addition, the effects of the IMF By on the flaring angle α were analyzed. Our results showed that: (1) the new fitting coefficients of the Chao model in the middle-distance magnetotail are more consistent with the observed results; (2) the tail-flaring angle α of the bow shock increases as the absolute value of the IMF By increases. Moreover, positive IMF By has a greater effect than negative IMF By on flaring angle. These results provide a reference for bow shock modeling that includes the IMF By.

THEMIS statistical study on the plasma properties of high-speed flows in Earth’s magnetotail

Using Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) observations from 2007 to 2011 tail seasons, we study the plasma properties of high speed flows (HSFs) and background plasma sheet events (BPSs) in Earth’s magnetotail (|YGSM|<13RE, |ZGSM|<5RE,–30RE<XGSM<–6RE), and their correlations with solar wind parameters. Statistical results show that the closer the HSFs and BPSs are to the Earth, the hotter they become, and the temperature increase of HSFs is larger than that of BPSs. The density and temperature ratios between HSFs and BPSs are also larger when events are closer to Earth. We also find that the best correlations between the HSFs (BPSs) density and the solar wind density occur when the solar wind density is averaged 2 (3.5) hours prior to the onset of HSFs (BPSs). The normalized densities of both HSFs and BPSs are correlated with the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) θ angles

Spatial Distribution and Semiannual Variation of Cold‐Dense Plasma Sheet

\left( {\theta = \arctan \left( {{B_z}/\sqrt {B_x^2 + B_y^2} } \right)} \right.