Engineering topics

Fuselier, S. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Fuselier, S. A..

At least 37 records · Page 2

NASA NTRS2001

Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves in the High Altitude Cusp: Polar Observations

High-resolution magnetic field data from the Polar Magnetic Field Experiment (MFE) show that narrow band waves at frequencies approximately 0.2 to 3 Hz are a permanent feature in the vicinity of the polar cusp. The waves have been found in the magnetosphere adjacent to the cusp (both poleward and equatorward of the cusp) and in the cusp itself. The occurrence of waves is coincident with depression of magnetic field strength associated with enhanced plasma density, indicating the entry of magnetosheath plasma into the cusp region. The wave frequencies are generally scaled by the local proton cyclotron frequency, and vary between 0.2 and 1.7 times local proton cyclotron frequency. This suggests that the waves are generated in the cusp region by the precipitating magnetosheath plasma. The properties of the waves are highly variable. The waves exhibit both lefthanded and right-handed polarization in the spacecraft frame. The propagation angles vary from nearly parallel to nearly perpendicular to the magnetic field. We find no correlation among wave frequency, propagation angle and polarization. Combined magnetic field and electric field data for the waves indicate that the energy flux of the waves is guided by the background magnetic field and points downward toward the ionosphere.

Le, Guan↗

NASA NTRS1999

Evidence of Component Merging Equatorward of the Cusp

The Polar spacecraft passed through a region near the dayside magnetopause on May 29, 1996, at a geocentric distance of approx. 8 R (sub E) and high, northern magnetic latitudes. The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was northward during the pass. Data from the Thermal Ion Dynamics Experiment revealed the existence of low-speed (approx. 50 km s (exp-1)) ion D-shaped distributions mixed with cold ions (approx. 2 eV) over a period of 2.5 hours. These ions were traveling parallel to the magnetic field toward the Northern Hemisphere ionosphere and were convecting primarily eastward. The D-shaped distributions are distinct from a convecting Maxwellian and, along with the magnetic field direction, are taken as evidence that the spacecraft was inside the magnetosphere and not in the magnetosheath. Furthermore, the absence of ions in the antiparallel direction is taken as evidence that low-shear merging was occurring at a location southward of the spacecraft and equatorward of the Southern Hemisphere cusp. The cold ions were of ionospheric origin, with initially slow field-aligned speeds, which were accelerated upon reflection from the magnetopause. These observations provide significant new evidence consistent with component magnetic merging sites equatorward of the cusp for northward IMF.

Chandler, M. O.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Pickup Proton Gryophase Bunching at Comet P/Grigg-Skjellerup

During the Giotto encounter with comet P/Grigg-Skjellerup, the ion mass spectrometer high intensity spectrometer (IMS-HIS) measured fluxes of ions from about 260,000 before to 86,000 km after closest approach to the comet. Cometary pickup protons were measured both far and also relatively near the comet.

cometary pickup protons IMS/HIS data pickup proton↗

NASA NTRS1995

Particle signatures of magnetic topology at the magnetopause: AMPTE/CCE observations

Electron distributions at energies above 50 eV have been found to be a sensitive indicator of magnetic topology for magnetopause crossings of the AMPTE/CCE spacecraft. Progressing from the magnetosheath to the magnetosphere two abrupt transitions occur. First, the magnetosheath electron population directed either parallel or antiparallel to the magnetic field is replaced by a streaming, heated magnetosheath electron population. The other half of the distribution is unchanged. The region with unidirectional, heated magnetosheath electrons is identified as the magnetosheath boundary layer (MSBL). Second, the unheated magnetosheath electron population is replaced by a heated population nearly identical to the population encountered in the MSBL, resulting in a symmetric counterstreaming distribution. The region populated by the bidirectional heated magnetosheath electrons is identified as the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL). The MSBL and LLBL identified by the electron transitions are the same as the regions identified using ion composition measurements. The magnetosheath-MSBL transition reflects a change in magnetic topology from a solar wind field line to one that threads the magnetopause, and the existence of a magnetosheath-MSBL transition implies that the magnetopause is open. When the current layer is easily identified, the MSBL-LLBL transition coincides with the magnetopause current layer, indicating that the magnetosheath electrons are heated in the current layer. Both magnetosheath-MSBL and MSBL-LLBL transitions are observed for low as well as high magnetic shears. Moreover, the transitions are particularly clear for low shear implying that magnetic topology boundaries are sharp even when abrupt changes in the field and other plasma parameters are absent. Furthermore, for low magnetic shear, solar wind ions with low parallel drift speeds make up the majority of the LLBL population indicating that the magnetosheath plasma has convected directly across the magnetosheath plasma has converted directly across the magnetopause. These observations are consistent with quasi-steady, high-latitude reconnection and indicate that the signatures of this reconnection geometry are commonly present in the subpolar region.

Fuselier, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Ion distributions in the Earth's foreshock upstream from the bow shock

A variety of suprathermal and energetic ion distributions are found upstream from shocks. Some distributions, such as field-aligned beams, are generated directly at the shock either through reflection processes or through leakage from the hotter downstream region. Other distributions, such as intermediate distributions, evolve from these parent distributions through wave-particle interactions. This paper reviews our current understanding of the creation and evolution of suprathermal distributions at shocks. Examples of suprathermal ion distributions are taken from observations at the Earth's bow shock. Particular emphasis is placed on the creation of field-aligned beams and specularly reflected ion distributions and on the evolution of these distributions in the Earth's ion foreshock. However, the results from this heavily studied region are applicable to interplanetary shocks, bow shocks at other planets, and comets.

Fuselier, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Measurement of precipitation induced FUV emission and Geocoronal Lyman Alpha from the IMI mission

This final report describes the activities of the Lockheed Martin Palo Alto Research Laboratory in studying the measurement of ion and electron precipitation induced Far Ultra-Violet (FUV) emissions and Geocoronal Lyman Alpha for the NASA Inner Magnetospheric Imager (IMI) mission. this study examined promising techniques that may allow combining several FUV instruments that would separately measure proton aurora, electron aurora, and geocoronal Lyman alpha into a single instrument operated on a spinning spacecraft. The study consisted of two parts. First, the geocoronal Lyman alpha, proton aurora, and electron aurora emissions were modeled to determine instrument requirements. Second, several promising techniques were investigated to determine if they were suitable for use in an IMI-type mission. Among the techniques investigated were the Hydrogen gas cell for eliminating cold geocoronal Lyman alpha emissions, and a coded aperture spectrometer with sufficient resolution to separate Doppler shifted Lyman alpha components.

Mende, Stephen B.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Comparison of Wave Energy Transport at the Comets p/Halley and p/Giacobini-Zinner

Using magnetic field, plasma density and flow observations from spacecraft flybys of two comets, Eler variables are determined in order to study wave propogation directions. We investigate the inbound path of the Giotto spacecraft flyby of comet p/Halley outside the bow shock, and the inbound and outbound path of the ICE spacecraft flyby of comet p/Giacobini-Zinner outsinde of the bow wave.

magnetic field plasma density Giotto Halley Giacob↗

NASA NTRS1994

Low-freqency instabilities and the resulting velocity distributions of pickup ions at comet Halley

The interaction between the solar wind and newborn cometary ions is studied using a new analytical theory as well as one- and two-dimensional hybrid simulations. Using the observed parameters upstream of the comet Halley, a detailed study of wave excitation and the resulting particle distributions is presentd. Linear theory as well as simulations show that a variety of modes such as the fast magnetosonic mode, high frequency whistlers and obliquely propagating Alfven ion cyclotron waves can be excited. However, parallel propagating waves are found to be dominant in the wave spectrum and to control the scattering of the pickup ions. Several features of the observed distributions of pickup protons are explained. In particular, it is shown that the observed asymmetric pitch distribution for the pickup protons is due to the small saturation amplitude of the waves for the given parameters. Water group associated waves can lead to energy diffusion and further pitch angle scattering of protons. This effect is most likely to be important in the vicinity of the bow shock of comet Halley where the density of water group ions becomes comparable to that of protons. It is shown that the observed increase in the radius of the proton velocity shell just outside the bow shock can be due to water group waves. The nearby isotropic proton pitch angle distribution observed by Neugebauer et al. (1989) just outside the bow shock may, however, be related to the presence of a rotational discontinuity which has been identified in the magnetic field data. Just outside the bow shock, simulations show that parallel propagating water group waves can steepen with attached whistler wave packets. The steepening process at parallel propagation is a transient effect, in an important contrast to the case of steepening at oblique angles. The smaller beam densitites at comet Halley appears to be the main reason not only why waves at comet Halley have smaller amplitudes but also why oblique, steepening magnetosonic waves have not been detected at comet Halley, whereas they have been seen at comet Giacobini-Zinner. Halley, whereas they have been seen at comet Giacobini-Zinner.

Karimabadi, H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Giotto ion mass spectrometer measurements at comet P/Grigg-Skjellerup

The Giotto ion mass spectrometer high-intensity spectrometer (IMS-HIS) measured fluxes of ions from about 260,000 km before (1008:37 UT spacecraft time) to about 86,000 km after (1701:33 UT spacecraft time) closest approach to comet P/Grigg-Skjellerup during the encounter on July 10, 1992. Although the HIS sensor was not designed to measure protons, these ions were measured far from the comet. Close in to the comet, the ions observed were probably also protons, although heavier ions cannot be completely ruled out. Considerable temporal structure appears in the data, well-correlated with the data of other instruments onboard, especially those of the magnetometer. In particular, the ion count rate correlates with the direction of the magnetic field. This strong modulation at the water group ion cyclotron period (approx. 90 s) inside the inbound bow wave indicates a very narrow ion pitch angle distribution. Hence at Grigg-Skjellerup the ions appear to experience very little pitch angle scattering. This may result from strong compression in the rapidly increasing magnetic field.

Goldstein, R.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Response of thermal ions to electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves generated by 10 - 50 keV protons in the Earth's equatorial magnetosphere will interact with the ambient low-energy ions also found in this region. We examine H(+) and He(+) distribution functions from approx. equals 1 to 160 eV using the Hot Plasma Composition Experiment instrument on AMPTE/CCE to investigate the thermal ion response to the waves. A total of 48 intervals were chosen on the basis of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave activity: 24 with prevalent EMIC waves and 24 with no EMIC waves observed on the orbit. There is a close correlation between EMIC waves and perpendicular heated ion distributions. For protons the perpendicular temperature increase is modest, about 5 eV, and is always observed at 90 deg pitch angles. This is consistent with a nonresonant interaction near the equator. By contrast, He(+) temperatures during EMIC wave events averaged 35 eV and sometimes exceeded 100 eV, indicating stronger interaction with the waves. Furthermore, heated He(+) ions have X-type distributions with maximum fluxes occurring at pitch angles intermediate between field-aligned and perpendicular directions. The X-type He(+) distributions are consistent with a gyroresonant interaction off the equator. The concentration of He(+) relative to H(+) is found to correlate with EMIC wave activity, but it is suggested that the preferential heating of He(+) accounts for the apparent increase in relative He(+) concentration by increasing the proportion of He(+) detected by the ion instrument.

Anderson, B. J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Dynamics of the CRRES barium releases in the magnetosphere

The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) G-2, G-3, and G-4 ionized and neutral barium cloud positions are triangulated from ground-based optical data. From the time history of the ionized cloud motion perpendicular to the magnetic field, the late time coupling of the ionized cloud with the collisionless ambient plasma in the magnetosphere is investigated for each of the releases. The coupling of the ionized clouds with the ambient medium is quantitatively consistent with predictions from theory in that the coupling time increases with increasing distance from the Earth. Quantitative comparison with simple theory for the couping time also yields reasonable agreement. Other effects not predicted by the theory are discussed in the context of the observations.

Fuselier, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Mirror modes and fast magnetoacoustic waves near the magnetic pileup boundary of comet P/Halley

Large-amplitude ultralow-frequency wave structure observed on both sides of the magnetic pileup boundary of comet P/Halley during the flyby of the Giotto spacecraft have been analyzed using suprathermal electron density and magnetic field observations. Upstream of the boundary, electron density and magnetic field magnitude variations are anticorrelated, while in the pileup region these quantities are clearly correlated. Both in front of and behind the pileup boundary the observed waves are quasi-perpendicular wave structures as a minimum variance analysis shows. A detailed comparison of our observations in the prepileup region with theoretical and numerical results shows that the mirror mode mode waves may have been generated by a mirror instability driven by the pressure anisotropy of the ring-type distributions of the heavy (water group) pickup cometary ions.

Glassmeier, Karl-Heintz↗

NASA NTRS1993

Structure and properties of the subsolar magnetopause for northward interplanetary magnetic field - Multiple-instrument particle observations

The paper examines the structure and properties of the subsolar magnetopause for northward IMF on the basis of measurements from 10 different instrument for three ISEE crossings. It is shown that the overall structure and properties are similar for the three crossings, indicating that the magnetopause is relatively well determined in the subsolar region for strongly northward IMF. The combined data set suggests that the magnetopause region is best organized by defining a sheath transition layer and steplike boundary layers. The electron flux enhancements in the lowest energies in the boundary layers and magnetosphere are found to be ionospheric electrons and not photoelectrons from the spacecraft. For northward IMF, they are photoelectrons, but for southward IMF they may be secondary electrons. The density measurements from differential and integral techniques are similar, leaving no room for a significant 'invisible' population.

Song, P.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Local time occurrence frequency of energetic ions in the earth's magnetosheath

The occurrence frequency of energetic ions in the energy range from 8 to 40 keV/e as a function of local time in the magnetosheath is presented. Energetic ions are observed in the magnetosheath with a minimum probability of 25 percent for all local times. The occurrence frequency for the energetic ions is higher on the dawnside than on the duskside but shows a relative maximum postnoon in the local time range from 12 to 15 hours. The postnoon relative maximum is attributed to a magnetospheric source for the energetic ions while the dawn-dusk asymmetry is attributed to a quasi-parallel bow shock source.

Fuselier, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Mass density and pressure changes across the dayside magnetopause

Plasma composition measurements at about 2-min time resolution from 27 magnetopause crossings are used to determine if mass density rho, modified by the anisotropic pressure term (1-alpha), is constant across the magnetopause. Pressure and mass density in the magnetosheath and low-latitude boundary layer were found to be dominated by H(+) except on one occasion when O(+) was the dominant contributor to the total mass density in the low-latitude boundary layer. Using these measurements, it is found that rho(1-alpha) is not constant for almost all magnetopause crossings even when there is independent evidence for magnetic reconnection and an open magnetopause. These results indicate that the reason why rho(1-alpha) is not constant across the magnetopause is that the H(+) density decrease from the magnetosheath to the low-latitude boundary layer is not compensated for by either a change in the pressure anisotropy or a change in the total mass density and suggest that the magnetopause can never be described as a time-stationary 1D rotational discontinuity.

Fuselier, S. A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Magnetic pulsations from 0.1 to 4.0 Hz and associated plasma properties in the earth's subsolar magnetosheath and plasma depletion layer

AMPTE CCE magnetic field data acquired during periods of magnetospheric compressions when the spacecraft sampled the magnetosheath are analyzed on the basis of a dynamic spectral analysis covering frequencies 0.1 to 4.0 Hz. Ion and electron data are used to identify regions, to monitor the upstream shock geometry, and to evaluate moments of the proton distribution. Fourteen encounters representing 46 hr of observations are analyzed. A compilation of the temporal sequence of spectral structures shows that electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves occur next to the magnetopause, while mirror waves occur outside the region of EMIC waves. It is concluded that there is a close relationship between EMIC waves in the sheath and the plasma depletion layer. For quasi-parallel upstream conditions, the magnetic field power spectra often exhibit no band limited structures but only broadband noise.

Anderson, B. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The spatial extent of radial magnetic pulsation events observed in the dayside near synchronous orbit

The spatial extent of magnetic pulsation events with predominantly radial polarization was investigated using simultaneous observations made aboard the AMPTE CCE satellite and aboard the GOES 5 and GOES 6 satellites. The results show that radially polarized pulsations in the equatorial dayside outer magnetosphere occur in radially narrow and often sharply bounded strips extending typically from late morning to dusk. The frequencies of these waves, which appear to be confined to the outer plasmasphere, are determined by local conditions. No correlation was found between plasma beta (in the range from 0.23 to 1.09) and the wave onset, the amplitude, or the ratio of compressional to radial components. These characteristics suggest that the wave growth and energy dissipation, the wave polarization, and the pulsation frequency are all dependent on the characteristics of the lowest-energy plasmas present in this region and/or along the affected flux tubes.

Engebretson, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A different view of plasma flow inside P/Halley

The Giotto spacecraft carried two different instruments - the JPA and the IMS - for the observation of hot ions in the coma of P/Halley. Although there are many similarities in the time and distance profiles of the plasma flow parameters (bulk velocity, number density, and temperature) computed from the two data sets, there are also some significant differences, especially at cometocentric distances less than 500,000 km. The principal discrepancies between the JPA results presented by Formisano et al. (1990) and the IMS observations are: (1) the IMS did not detect the levelling off of the speed and temperature profiles that Formisano et al. interpreted as flow stabilization; (2) the IMS detected differential north-south flow between the solar wind and cometary ions for only a brief interval when the magnetic field was oriented nearly southward, whereas Formisano et al. reported more extensive differential north-south flow that was independent of the direction of the field; (3) the JPA ion densities were factors of 2 to 4 higher than the IMS ion densities which, in turn, were an order of magnitude greater than theoretical values.

Neugebauer, M.↗