Deng Xiao-Hua

Cluster Observation of Electrostatic Solitary Waves around Magnetic Null Point in Thin Current Sheet

Electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) are observed in the vicinity of the magnetic null of the widely studied magnetic reconnection taking place at the near-earth tail when current sheet becomes dramatic thinning during substorm time on 1 October 2001. We use the Imada method for the 2-D reconnection model and study the characteristics of ESWs near the X-line region and the magnetic null points. The result shows that the amplitude of the observed ESWs in the vicinity of X-line region ranges from 0.1 mV/m to 5 mV/m, and the amplitude is larger near the magnetic null points. The generation mechanism and the role of ESWs associated with magnetic reconnection are also discussed.

Spatial Evolution of Electrostatic Solitary Waves along Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer Adjacent to the Magnetic Reconnection X-Line

Analysis on the spatial structure of electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) along the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) near an on-going magnetic reconnection X-line is performed. Most of the ESWs in the PSBL of R3 region near reconnection X-line are propagating earthwards away from the reconnecting site. An analysis of their spatial structure shows that, when ESWs propagate along the ambient field in the PSBL, outwards from the magnetic reconnection X-line, their amplitude will finally attenuate and thus the electron hole will fade away but their spatial scale remains unchanged. However, the spatial structure of propagating ESWs evolves from 1-D-like to 2-D-like though totally in a 1-D structure.

Observation of a Sharp Negative Dipolarization Front in the Reconnection Outflow Region

A sharp dipolarization front (DF) has recently been detected in the Earths magnetotail and is associated with complex kinetic effects. We present one event where a tailward propagating negative DF (with Bz decreasing sharply to negative value) was observed near a reconnection region. The thickness of the negative DF is comparable with the local ion gyro-radius/inertial length. There is a strong field-aligned current at the front. Electromagnetic whistler wave enhancements are observed around the front, associated with counter-streaming electron beams. We further compare the features of the observed negative DF with the recent kinetic simulation results, as well as the Earthward propagating DFs observed by the THEMIS spacecraft.

Storm-Time Strong Field-Aligned Ion Upflow in Region of the SED Plume

We report the observations from the GPS TEC and DMSP F-13 satellites showing that very strong upward field-aligned (FA) ion velocity and flux in the outer region of the storm-enhanced density (SED) occurred in the event of the geomagnetic storm on 29–31 May 2003. By a method of coordinate transformation, upward FA ion velocities in excess of 250 m/s are obtained from the observations of the DMSP F-13 satellite. Further, an FA ion flux is estimated to be about 4.5 × 1013 ions/m2s in the dusk sector. The estimated FA ion velocity and flux provide a powerful direct proof to support the scenario that there is a strong coupling of particles between the ionosphere and plasmasphere in the region of the SED plume. In the process, FA ion flux transports from the ionosphere to the plasmasphere in the region of the SED plume. Therefore, the plume of SED in the ionosphere provides an important source to the enhanced density of O+ in the storm-time plasmasphere.

Large Bi-Polar Signature in a Perpendicular Electric Field of Two-Dimensional Electrostatic Solitary Waves Associated with Magnetic Reconnection: Statistics and Discussion

More than 300 electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) with a large perpendicular component which is a bi-polar waveform structure are observed in the boundary layer within the magnetic reconnection diffusion region in the near-Earth magnetotail. Such ESWs are called two-dimensional ESWs. A Singe-reconnection-based-statistical study of two-dimensional ESWs shows that: (1) ESWs can be continuously observed in the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) associated with the magnetic reconnection diffusion region, and their amplitude ranges are mainly from several tens to hundreds of μV/m; (2) both one-dimension-like ESWs (very small magnitude on E⊥) and two-dimension-like ESWs (large magnitude on E⊥, which are even comparable to that in the E||) are observed within a small time interval; (3) within the observation time spans, more than 61% of ESWs are regarded as two-dimensional ESWs for the I2D > 20%. We discuss the bi-polar structure in E⊥. The observation of ESWs with a large bi-polar structure in the perpendicular electric field gives evidence that the unique waveform differs from previous understanding from observations and simulations which suggests that it should be a uni-polar waveform structure in the E⊥ of ESWs.

Alfven Waves in a Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer Associated with Near-Tail Magnetic Reconnection

We report observations from Geotail satellite showing that large Poynting fluxes associated with Alfven waves in the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) occur in the vicinity of the near-tail reconnection region on 10 December 1996. During the period of large Poynting fluxes, Geotail also observed strong tailward plasma flows. These observations demonstrate the importance of near-tail reconnection process as the energy source of Alfven waves in the PSBL. Strong tailward (Earthward) plasma flows ought to be an important candidate in generating Alfven waves. Furthermore, the strong perturbations not only of the magnetic field but also of the electric field observed in the PSBL indicate that the PSBL plays an important role in the generation and propagation of the energy flux associated with Alfven waves.

A magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the single-fluid 2-D structure of the solar wind

Abstract The system of single-fluid 2-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations incorporating the momentum term is simulated and the structure of the solar wind in the meridian plane is acquired. The form and location of the momentum addition have an important effect on the velocity and proton density of the solar wind in distant places. By locating the addition in an appropriate region (between 3.5 and 10 solar radii), we got results on the velocity and proton density agreeing with the Ulysses observations.