Y. C. Zhang

Currents and associated electron scattering and bouncing near the diffusion region at Earth's magnetopause

Based on high-resolution measurements from NASAs Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we present the dynamics of electrons associated with current systems observed near the diffusion region of magnetic reconnection at Earths magnetopause. Using pitch angle distributions (PAD) and magnetic curvature analysis, we demonstrate the occurrence of electron scattering in the curved magnetic field of the diffusion region down to energies of 20 eV. We show that scattering occurs closer to the current sheet as the electron energy decreases. The scattering of inflowing electrons, associated with field-aligned electrostatic potentials and Hall currents, produces a new population of scattered electrons with broader PAD which bounce back and forth in the exhaust. Except at the center of the diffusion region the two populations are collocated and appear to behave adiabatically: the inflowing electron PAD focuses inward (toward lower magnetic field), while the bouncing population PAD gradually peaks at 90° away from the center (where it mirrors owing to higher magnetic field and probable field-aligned potentials).

Time delay of interplanetary magnetic field penetration into Earth's magnetotail

Many previous studies have demonstrated that the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) can control the magnetospheric dynamics. Immediate magnetospheric responses to the external IMF have been assumed for a long time. The specific processes by which IMF penetrates into magnetosphere, however, are actually unclear. Solving this issue will help to accurately interpret the time sequence of magnetospheric activities (e.g., substorm and tail plasmoids) exerted by IMF. With two carefully selected cases, we found that the penetration of IMF into magnetotail is actually delayed by 1-1.5 h, which significantly lags behind the magnetotail response to the solar wind dynamic pressure. The delayed time appears to vary with different auroral convection intensity, which may suggest that IMF penetration in the magnetotail is controlled considerably by the dayside reconnection. Several unfavorable cases demonstrate that the penetration lag time is more clearly identified when storm/substorm activities are not involved.

The force‐free configuration of flux ropes in geomagnetotail: Cluster observations

Unambiguous knowledge of magnetic field structure and the electric current distribution is critical for understanding the origin, evolution, and related dynamic properties of magnetic flux ropes (MFRs). In this paper, a survey of 13 MFRs in the Earths magnetotail are conducted by Cluster multipoint analysis, so that their force-free feature, i.e., the kind of magnetic field structure satisfying J x B = 0, can be probed directly. It is showed that the selected flux ropes with the bipolar signature of the south-north magnetic field component generally lie near the equatorial plane, as expected, and that the magnetic field gradient is rather weak near the axis center, where the curvature radius is large. The current density (up to several tens of nA/m(2)) reaches their maximum values as the center is approached. It is found that the stronger the current density, the smaller the angles between the magnetic field and current in MFRs. The direct observations show that only quasi force-free structure is observed, and it tends to appear in the low plasma beta regime (in agreement with the theoretic results). The quasi force-free region is generally found to be embedded in the central portion of the MFRs, where the current is approximately field aligned and proportional to the strength of core field. It is shown that similar to 60% of surveyed MFRs can be globally approximated as force free. The force-free factor a is found to be nonconstantly varied through the quasi force-free MFR, suggesting that the force-free structure is nonlinear.

Method for inferring the axis orientation of cylindrical magnetic flux rope based on single-point measurement

We develop a new simple method for inferring the orientation of a magnetic flux rope, which is assumed to be a time-independent cylindrically symmetric structure via the direct single-point analysis of magnetic field structure. The model tests demonstrate that, for the cylindrical flux rope regardless of whether it is force-free or not, the method can consistently yield the axis orientation of the flux rope with higher accuracy and stability than the minimum variance analysis of the magnetic field and the Grad-Shafranov reconstruction technique. Moreover, the radial distance to the axis center and the current density can also be estimated consistently. Application to two actual flux transfer events observed by the four satellites of the Cluster mission demonstrates that the method is more appropriate to be used for the inner part of flux rope, which might be closer to the cylindrical structure, showing good agreement with the results obtained from the optimal Grad-Shafranov reconstruction and the least squares technique of Faradays law, but fails to produce such agreement for the outer satellite that grazes the flux rope. Therefore, the method must be used with caution. Citation: Rong, Z. J., W. X. Wan, C. Shen, T. L. Zhang, A. T. Y. Lui, Y. Wang, M. W. Dunlop, Y. C. Zhang, and Q.-G. Zong (2013), Method for inferring the axis orientation of cylindrical magnetic flux rope based on single-point measurement, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 118, 271-283, doi:10.1029/2012JA018079.

Magnetopause response to variations in the solar wind: Conjunction observations between Cluster, TC-1, and SuperDARN

How the solar wind affects the location of the magnetopause has been widely studied and excellent models of the magnetopause based on in situ observations in the solar wind and at the magnetopause have been established, while the careful insight into the responses of the magnetopause to the variations in the solar wind can still provide us some new information about the processes in space plasmas. The short distance from Cluster to TC-1 on 9 March 2004, between 06: 10 and 08: 10 UT, gives us a good opportunity to precisely monitor the responses of the magnetopause to the variations in the solar wind. On the basis of the combined observations between Cluster, TC-1, and SuperDARN we analyze the magnetopause crossings associated with magnetopause motion or magnetic reconnection when the solar wind conditions have a series of variations. New results about the time delays for the propagation from the solar wind monitor to the magnetopause of the interplanetary magnetic fields (IMF) and of the solar wind dynamic pressure, respectively, and the intrinsic time for reconnection onset at the magnetopause are obtained. The most important feature of the event is that the dynamic pressure and the IMF in the solar wind do not arrive at the magnetopause at the same time, which will direct us to find out how the variation in the solar wind dynamic pressure is transported from the bow shock to the magnetopause. Another significant feature is that this event presents a shorter intrinsic time, similar to 2 min, for reconnection onset at the dayside magnetopause than that given by the previous work of Le et al. (1993) and Russell et al. (1997).

Quantitative analysis of a Hall system in the exhaust of asymmetric magnetic reconnection

Taking advantage of high-resolution measurements from the MMS mission, we find evidence for a complete Hall system in the exhaust of asymmetric magnetic reconnection 40Di downstream of the X line. The investigation of the fine structure of the Hall system reveals that it displays features in the exhaust similar to those reported previously in the ion diffusion region by simulations and observations. This finding confirms the importance of particle-scale processes in the reconnection exhaust as well. On the magnetospheric side of the exhaust, electrons are strongly accelerated by parallel electric fields. This process significantly contributes to feed the Hall current system, resulting in a non-negligible Hall magnetic field signature on this side despite an otherwise lower density. Calculation of the induced out-of-plane magnetic field by in-plane currents (based on Biot-Savart Law) provides direct quantitative evidence for the process of Hall magnetic field generation by the Hall current system. A strong normal Hall electric field is present only on the magnetospheric side of the exhaust region, consistent with previous works. Multipoint data analysis shows that the ion pressure gradient in the ion momentum equation produces this Hall electric field. This global pattern of the Hall system can be explained by Kinetic Alfven Wave (KAW) theory.

First in situ evidence of electron pitch angle scattering due to magnetic field line curvature in the Ion diffusion region

Theory predicts that the first adiabatic invariant of a charged particle may be violated in a region of highly curved field lines, leading to significant pitch angle scattering for particles whose gyroradius are comparable to the radius of the magnetic field line curvature. This scattering generates more isotropic particle distribution functions, with important impacts on the presence or absence of plasma instabilities. Using magnetic curvature analysis based on multipoint Cluster spacecraft observations, we present the first investigation of magnetic curvature in the vicinity of an ion diffusion region where reconnected field lines are highly curved. Electrons at energies > 8 keV show a clear pitch angle ordering between bidirectional and trapped distribution in surrounding regions, while we show that in the more central part of the ion diffusion region electrons above such energies become isotropic. By contrast, colder electrons ( 1 keV) retain their bidirectional character throughout the diffusion regions. The calculated adiabatic parameter K2 for these electrons is in agreement with theory. This study provides the first observational evidence for particle pitch angle scattering due to magnetic field lines with well characterized curvature in a space plasma.

Cluster observations of unusually high concentration of energetic O+ carried by flux ropes in the nightside high‐latitude magnetosheath during a storm initial phase

We present measurements from Cluster spacecraft to investigate the energetic singly charged oxygen ions, O+, within the flux ropes in the nightside high-latitude magnetosheath during the initial phase of an intense storm on 24 October 2011. Three magnetic flux ropes were identified by Cluster 4 in the intervals from 20:10 UT to 20:20 UT. Unusually, large number density of energetic O+ ions at energy of tens of keV was detected within these flux ropes. The number density of O+ ions was above 0.1cm(-3) and the maximum value was about 0.25cm(-3), 1 order of magnitude larger than the ambient value (0.01cm(-3)) in the magnetosheath. The O+/H+ ratio is as large as 0.08 within the flux ropes. Enhanced convection electric fields E-y (10mV/m) are associated with the flux rope and the high concentrations of energetic O+. The flux ropes, which are presumably produced by magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause or cusp, are convected at a larger velocity than the tailward velocity of ambient flows in the magnetosheath. These observations together show that abundant energetic O+ ions are carried by the flux ropes toward tail in the nightside magnetosheath. Our observations present new evidence for a chain linking the dayside to the nightside in the global O+ transport process.

Kinetic Alfvén wave explanation of the Hall fields in magnetic reconnection: HALL FIELDS EXPLAINED AS KAW

Magnetic reconnection is initiated in a small diffusion region but can drive global-scale dynamics in Earth’s magnetosphere, solar flares, and astrophysical systems. Understanding the processes at work in the diffusion region remains a main challenge in space plasma physics. Recent in situ observations from Magnetospheric Multiscale and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms reveal that the electric field normal to the reconnection current layer, often called the Hall electric field (En), is mainly balanced by the ion pressure gradient. Here we present theoretical explanations indicating that this observation fact is a manifestation of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) physics. The ion pressure gradient represents the finite gyroradius effect of KAW, leading to ion intrusion across the magnetic field lines. Electrons stream along the magnetic field lines to track ions, resulting in field-aligned currents and the associated pattern of the out-of-plane Hall magnetic field (Bm). The ratio ΔEn∕ΔBm is on the order of the Alfvén speed, as predicted by the KAW theory. The KAW physics further provides new perspectives on how ion intrusion may trigger electric fields suitable for reconnection to occur.