On the altitude dependence of transversely heated O+ distributions in the cusp/cleft
Abstract. The present paper focuses on the altitude dependence of oxygen ion conics in the dayside cusp/cleft region. Here, combining oxygen data from the Akebono, Interball-2 and Cluster satellites allows, for the first time, one to follow the global development of energetic (up to ~10keV) ion outflow over a continuous and broad altitude range up to about 5.5 Earth radii (RE). According to earlier statistical studies, the results are consistent with a height-integrated energization of ions at altitudes up to 3.5 RE. Higher up, the results inferred from Cluster observations put forward evidence of a saturation of both a transverse energization rate and ion gyroradii. We suggest that such results may be interpreted as finite perpendicular wavelength effects (a few tens of km) in the wave-particle interactions. To substantiate the suggestion, we carry out two-dimensional, Monte Carlo simulations of ion conic production that incorporate such effects and limited residence times due to the finite latitudinal extent of the heating region.
Key words. Magnetospheric physics (auroral phenomena) – Space plasma physics (charged particle motion and acceleration; wave-particle interactions)
