References

ANGEO

Annales Geophysicae

ANGEO

Ann. Geophys.

1432-0576

Copernicus Publications

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/angeo-31-1297-2013

Cross-field flow and electric potential in a plasma slab

De Keyser

¹ Echim

¹ Roth

Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Ringlaan 3, 1180 Brussels, Belgium

01 08 2013

31 8 1297 1314

2013

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This article is available from https://angeo.copernicus.org/articles/31/1297/2013/angeo-31-1297-2013.html

The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://angeo.copernicus.org/articles/31/1297/2013/angeo-31-1297-2013.pdf

We consider cross-field plasma flow inside a field-aligned plasma slab embedded in a uniform background in a 1-dimensional geometry. This situation may arise, for instance, when long-lasting reconnection pulses inject plasma into the inner magnetosphere. The present paper presents a detailed analysis of the structure of the interfaces that separate the slab from the background plasma on either side; a fully kinetic model is used to do so. Since the velocity shear across both interfaces has opposite signs, and given the typical gyroradius differences between injected and background ions and electrons, the structure of both interfaces can be very different. The behaviour of the slab and its interfaces depends critically on the flow of the plasma transverse to the magnetic field; in particular, it is shown that there are bounds to the flow speed that can be supported by the magnetised plasma. Further complicating the picture is the effect of the potential difference between the slab and its environment.

References 1

Angelopoulos, V., Baumjohann, W., Kennel, C. F., Coroniti, F. V., Kivelson, M. G., Pellat, R., Walker, R. J., Lühr, H., and Paschmann, G.: Bursty bulk flows in the inner central plasma sheet, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 4027–4039, 1992.

Apatenkov, S. V., Sergeev, V. A., Kubyshkina, M. V., Nakamura, R., Baumjohann, W., Runov, A., Alexeev, I., Fazakerley, A., Frey, H., Muhlbachler, S., Daly, P. W., Sauvaud, J.-A., Ganushkina, N., Pulkkinen, T., Reeves, G. D., and Khotyaintsev, Y.: Multi-spacecraft observation of plasma dipolarization/injection in the inner magnetosphere, Ann. Geophys., 25, 801–814, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-25-801-2007">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-25-801-2007</a>, 2007..

Artemyev, A. V.: A model of one-dimensional current sheet with parallel currents and normal component of magnetic field, Phys. Plasmas, 18, 022104, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3552141">https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3552141</a>, 2011.

Burch, J. L., Goldstein, J., Hill, T. W., Young, D. T., Crary, F. J., Coates, A. J., André, N., Kurth, W. S., and Sittler Jr., E. C.: Properties of local plasma injections in Saturn's magnetosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L14S02, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022611">https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022611</a>, 2005.

De Keyser, J. and Echim, M.: Electric potential differences across auroral generator interfaces, Ann. Geophys., 31, 251–261, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-251-2013">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-31-251-2013</a>, 2013.

De Keyser, J., Roth, M., Lemaire, J., Tsurutani, B., Ho, C., and Hammond, C.: Theoretical plasma distributions consistent with Ulysses magnetic field observations in a high-speed solar wind tangential discontinuity, Solar Phys., 166, 415–422, 1996.

De Keyser, J., Roth, M., Tsurutani, B., Ho, C., and Phillips, J.: Solar wind velocity jumps across tangential discontinuities: Ulysses observations and kinetic interpretation, A&A, 321, 945–959, 1997.

De Keyser, J., Maggiolo, R., and Echim, M.: Monopolar and bipolar auroral electric fields and their effects, Ann. Geophys., 28, 2027–2046, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-28-2027-2010">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-28-2027-2010</a>, 2010.

Deng, X. H., Tang, R. X., Nakamura, R., Baumjohann, W., Zhang, T. L., Daly, P. W., Rème, H., Carr, C. M., Balogh, A., Liu, Z. X., and Wang, J. F.: Observation of reconnection pulses by Cluster and Double Star, Ann. Geophys., 23, 2921–2927, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-23-2921-2005">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-23-2921-2005</a>, 2005.

Echim, M. and Lemaire, J. F.: Laboratory and numerical simulations of the impulsive penetration mechanism, Space Sci. Rev., 92, 565–601, 2000.

Echim, M., Lemaire, J. F., and Roth, M.: Self-consistent solution for a collisionless plasma slab in motion across a magnetic field, Phys. Plasmas, 12, 072904, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1943848">https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1943848</a>, 2005.

Echim, M. M., Maggiolo, R., Roth, M., and De Keyser, J.: A magnetospheric generator driving ion and electron acceleration and electric currents in a discrete auroral arc observed by Cluster and DMSP, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L12111, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2009GL038343">https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL038343</a>, 2009.

Echim, M., Maggiolo, R., De Keyser, J., Zhang, T. L., Voitcu, G., Barabash, S., and Lundin, R.: Comparative investigation of the Terrestrial and Venusian magnetopause: kinetic modeling and experimental observations by Cluster and Venus Express, Planet. Space Sci., 59, 1028–1038, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2010.04.019">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2010.04.019</a>, 2011.

Harris, E. G.: On a plasma sheath separating regions of oppositely directed magnetic field, Il Nuovo Cimento, 23, 115–121, 1962.

Hubert, D., Harvey, C., Roth, M., and De Keyser, J.: Electron density at the subsolar magnetopause for high magnetic shear: ISEE 1 and 2 observations, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 6685–6692, 1998.

Lee, L. C. and Kan, J. R.: A unified kinetic model of the tangential magnetopause structure, J. Geophys. Res., 84, 6417–6426, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JA084iA11p06417">https://doi.org/10.1029/JA084iA11p06417</a>, 1979.

Lemaire, J.: Impulsive penetration of filamentary plasma elements into the magnetospheres of the Earth and Jupiter, Planet Space Sci., 25, 887–890, 1977.

Lemaire, J. and Roth, M.: Penetration of solar wind plasma elements into the magnetosphere, J. Atmos. Terr. Phys., 40, 331–335, 1978.

Lundin, R., Sauvaud, J.-A., Rème, H., Balogh, A., Dandouras, I., Bosqued, J. M., Carlson, C., Parks, G. K., Möbius, E., Kistler, L. M., Klecker, B., Amata, E., Formisano, V., Dunlop, M., Eliasson, L., Korth, A., Lavraud, B., and McCarthy, M.: Evidence for impulsive solar wind plasma penetration through the dayside magnetopause, Ann. Geophys., 21, 457–472, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-21-457-2003">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-21-457-2003</a>, 200.

Lyons, L. R.: Generation of large-scale regions of auroral currents, electric potentials and precipitation by the divergence of the convection electric field, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 17–24, 1980.

Maggiolo, R., Sauvaud, J. A., Fontaine, D., Teste, A., Grigorenko, E., Balogh, A., Fazakerley, A., Paschmann, G., Delcourt, D., and Rème, H.: A multi-satellite study of accelerated ionospheric ion beams above the polar cap, Ann. Geophys., 24, 1665–1684, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-24-1665-2006">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-24-1665-2006</a>, 2006.

Maggiolo, R., Echim, M., De Keyser, J., Fontaine, D., Jacquey, C., and Dandouras, I.: Polar cap ion beams during periods of northward IMF: Cluster statistical results, Ann. Geophys., 29, 771–787, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-29-771-2011">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-29-771-2011</a>, 2011.

Maggiolo, R., Echim, M., Simon Wedlund, C., Zhang, Y., Fontaine, D., Lointier, G., and Trotignon, J.-G.: Polar cap arcs from the magnetosphere to the ionosphere: kinetic modelling and observations by Cluster and TIMED, Ann. Geophys., 30, 283–302, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-30-283-2012">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-30-283-2012</a>, 2012.

Marchaudon, A., Cerisier, J.-C., Dunlop, M. W., Pitout, F., Bosqued, J.-M., and Fazakerley, A. N.: Shape, size, velocity and field-aligned currents of dayside plasma injections: a multi-altitude study, Ann. Geophys., 27, 1251–1266, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/angeo-27-1251-2009">https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-27-1251-2009</a>, 2009.

Mitchell, D. G., Carbary, J. F., Cowley, S. W. H., Hill, T. W., and Zarka, P.: The Dynamics of Saturn's Magnetosphere, in: Saturn from Cassini-Huygens, edited by: Dougherty, M. K., pp. 257–279, Springer, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9217-6_10">https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9217-6_10</a>, 2009.

Mottez, F.: Exact nonlinear analytic Vlasov–Maxwell tangential equilibria with arbitrary density and temperature profiles, Phys. Plasmas, 10, 2501–2508, 2003.

Nicholson, R. B.: Solution of the Vlasov Equations for a Plasma in an Externally Uniform Magnetic Field, Phys. Fluids, 6, 1581–1586, 1963.

Reasoner, D. L., Craven, P. D., and Chappell, C. R.: Characteristics of low-energy plasma in the plasmasphere and plasma trough, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 7913–7925, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JA088iA10p07913">https://doi.org/10.1029/JA088iA10p07913</a>, 1983.

Roth, M., De Keyser, J., and Kuznetsova, M. M.: Vlasov theory of the equilibrium structure of tangential discontinuities in space plasmas, Space Sci. Rev., 76, 251–317, 1996.

Sestero, A.: Structure of plasma sheaths, Phys. Fluids, 7, 44–51, 1964.

Sestero, A.: Vlasov equation study of plasma motion across magnetic fields, Phys. Fluids, 9, 2006–2013, 1966.

Sojka, J. J., Schunk, R. W., Johnson, J. F. E., Waite, J. H., and Chappell, C. R.: Characteristics of thermal and suprathermal ions associated with the dayside plasma trough as measured by the Dynamics Explorer Retarding Ion Mass Spectrometer, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 7895–7911, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JA088iA10p07895">https://doi.org/10.1029/JA088iA10p07895</a>, 1983.

Whipple, E. C., Hill, J. R., and Nichols, J. D.: Magnetopause structure and the question of particle accessibility, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 1508–1516, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JA089iA03p01508">https://doi.org/10.1029/JA089iA03p01508</a>, 1984.

Zhang, J.-C., Wolf, R. A., Sazykin, S., and Toffoletto, F. R.: Injection of a bubble into the inner magnetosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L02110,, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032048">https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL032048</a>, 2008.