The Beam Plasma Interactions Experiment: An Active Experiment Using Pulsed Electron Beams
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79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Engineering topics
Sanchez, Ennio R.
Publications and source records attributed to Sanchez, Ennio R..
Solving the auroral-arc-generator question by using an electron beam to unambiguously connect critical magnetospheric measurements to auroral images
Here, an active mapping mission is described that unambiguously connects measurements in the Earth's magnetosphere to visible aurora in the atmosphere. The core of the mission is an electron-beam source operated on a spacecraft in the equatorial magnetosphere, with the electron beam traveling along the Earth's magnetic-field lines to the atmosphere, depositing its energy to create an optical beam-spot in the atmosphere at the footpoint of the spacecraft's magnetic-field line. This optical spot can be imaged by ground-based cameras, putting the location of the spacecraft's magnetic footpoint into the context of the optical aurora. Scientific instruments carried on the spacecraft make critical measurements of the properties of the magnetosphere at the locations where the magnetosphere powers the aurora, allowing the determination of the plasma-physics mechanisms by which the magnetosphere drives the aurora, in particular answering the outstanding question of how the magnetosphere drives low-latitude auroral arcs. Long-standing questions in magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling that have not been answered because we could not unambiguously connect locations in the magnetosphere with their image in the ionosphere will finally be addressed. In this paper the properties of a “standard” growth-phase auroral arc are collected, theories of the magnetospheric generation of auroral arcs are reviewed, and critical magnetospheric measurements to discern the mechanisms that drive auroral arcs are determined. Further, the plasma physics of the experiment is investigated, including spacecraft-charging mitigation, beam stability, beam scattering, and electron orbit theory. Tradeoffs (keV versus MeV) concerning the energy of the electron beam are enumerated.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Observations and Simulations on the M-I Coupling of Bursty Convection
This final report summarizes the development and application of the first ever method to measure a proxy of the global merging along the solar wind-Earth separatrix. The ultimate aim of the project is to quantify the reconnection potential in the magnetotail and the fraction of it that is due to bursty bulk flows (BBFs). To achieve this goal, we developed the first method that allows the measurement of the distribution of reconnection rate along the polar cap boundary. The method was then applied to substorms and steady magnetospheric convection (labeled as SMC or convection bay) periods in order to quantify the strength of reconnection and the fraction of it that is contributed by BBFs in each case. Results of this research were reported in two manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Geophysical Research and presented at three international conferences. This report is organized as follows. In Section 2 we discuss the conceptual framework that is the foundation of the method. In Section 3 we describe the details of the method. In Section 4 we describe the application of the technique to substorms and SMCs. In Section 5 we summarize the results of this investigation and provide references to the manuscripts and conference presentations that report on the results of this project.
Sanchez, Ennio R.↗
Observations and Simulations of the M-I Coupling of Bursty Convection
The ultimate aim of the project is to establish how much of the magnetotail's total potential is due to flow bursts and how much of this potential maps to the ionosphere. In order to quantify these contributions, we further developed a method to measure the total cross-polar cap potential and the total reconnection rate across the entire polar cap boundary. Then we applied the method to different solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere conditions that included substorm periods, storms, and steady magnetospheric convection (SMCs, also known as convection bays) periods. In the following section, we describe in more detail the activities during the second year of this grant.
Sanchez, Ennio R.↗
Observations and Simulations of the M-I Coupling of Bursty Convection
The aim of the project is to establish how much of the magnetotail's total potential is due to flow bursts and how much of this potential maps to the ionosphere. In order to quantify these contributions, we need to develop a reliable method to measure the total cross-polar cap potential and the total reconnection rate across the entire polar cap boundary. This was the goal achieved in the first year of the grant. In the following section, we describe in more detail the activities leading to this goal.
Sanchez, Ennio R.↗
Tests of Substorm Models' Predictions Using ISTP Observations
This report provides progress to test the predictions of substorm models using ISTP observations. During the first year, two investigations were initiated in collaboration with a number of ISTP researchers. Both investigations use a combination of simultaneous measurements from high-, low-, and ground-altitude instruments to: (1) explore the role of MHD resonances in the onset and evolution of substorms, and (2) establish the timing of events in the magnetosphere and ionosphere during the substorm evolution beginning with the growth phase and ending with the recovery phase.
Sanchez, Ennio R.↗