Mirror Instabilities in the Inner Magnetosphere and Their Potential for Localized ULF Wave Generation
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M. B. Cooper↗
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Origin of Electron Boomerang Stripes: Statistical Study
In the outer radiation belt, localized ultralow frequency (ULF) waves can interact with energetic electrons by drift resonance, leading to quasiperiodic oscillations. The oscillations in the pitch angle spectrum can be characterized by either boomerang-shaped or straight stripes. Previous studies have shown that boomerang-shaped stripes evolve from straight ones when electrons drift away from the localized wave interaction region. Based on the time-of-flight technique on the pitch angle-dependent drift velocity, the origin can be remotely identified from the pitch angle dispersion. Here, we report 27 straight stripe events and 86 boomerang-shaped events observed by Van Allen Probes from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017. Statistical study shows a good coincidence between the locations of straight ones and traceback regions from boomerang-shaped ones. These locations, mainly located in noon-to-dusk region, coincide well with the plasmaspheric plumes. Thus, localized ULF waves trapped in the plume may result in the preference of localized ULF wave-electron interactions at noon-to-dusk region.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Rapid Acceleration Bursts in the Van Allen Radiation Belt
Abstract The fast Van Allen radiation belt electron dynamics during geomagnetic storms have not yet been fully explained, in part due to limitations of standard satellite missions in both orbit and the number of spacecraft. Here we overcome these limitations using measurements from the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation during an acceleration event on 26 August 2018. We show that the acceleration of relativistic electrons occurs in two distinct bursts, each dominated by a different acceleration mechanism. The first burst enhances the radiation belt electrons by four orders of magnitude in 2 hr and is consistent with ULF‐wave radial diffusion. The second burst is likely caused by the local acceleration and delivers an order‐of‐magnitude increase in 20 min. This work demonstrates how distributed, operational measurements can be used to resolve phenomena not observable with previous capabilities, and that rapid energization of the radiation belt can occur much faster than previously reported.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
ULF Wave Transmission Across Collisionless Shocks: 2.5D Local Hybrid Simulations
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P. Kajdič↗
A Case Study of Nonresonant Mode 3-s ULF Waves Observed by MMS
The nature of the 3-s ultralow frequency (ULF) wave in the Earth's foreshock region and the associated wave-particle interaction are not yet well understood. In this work, we investigate the 3-s ULF waves using Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations. By combining the plasma rest frame wave properties obtained from multiple methods with the instability analysis based on the velocity distribution in the linear wave stage, the ULF wave is determined to be due to the ion/ion nonresonant mode instability. The interaction between the wave and ions is analyzed using the phase relationship between the transverse wave fields and ion velocities and using the longitudinal momentum equation. During the stage when ULF waves have sinusoidal waveforms up to |dB|/|B 0 | ~ 3, where dB is the wave magnetic field and B0 is the background magnetic field, the wave electric fields perpendicular to B 0 do negative work to solar wind ions; along B 0 , a longitudinal electric field develops, but the V × B force is stronger and leads to solar wind ion deceleration. During the same wave stage, the backstreaming beam ions gain energy from the transverse wave fields and get deceleration along B 0 by the longitudinal electric field. The ULF wave leads to electron heating, preferentially in the direction perpendicular to the local magnetic field. Secondary waves are generated within the ULF waveforms, including whistler waves near half of the electron cyclotron frequency, high-frequency electrostatic waves, and magnetosonic whistler waves. The work improves the understanding of the nature of 3-s ULF waves and the associated wave-particle interaction.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
Drift-Resonant Interaction of Magnetospheric Relativistic Electrons with Ultra-Low Frequency (ULF) Waves: Comparison between Observations and Simulations
By analyzing CRRES and GOES observations on Aug. 27 1991, Tan et al. [2004] reported evidence of magnetospheric relativistic electron acceleration by resonant interactions with PC5 ULF waves. The event showed strong ULF wave activities after a storm sudden commencement (SSC) and energetic electron fluxes were enhanced in 2 hours. The electron flux peak observed in energy channels (0.6 - 1.1 MeV) were modulated by local electric field observed by CRRES. In this study, we set up a drift-resonant interaction model between ULF wave and magnetospheric relativistic electrons to model the observed electron flux in the event. In this model, the poloidal mode wave is concentrated in the dayside and the toroidal mode wave is concentrated in two flanks. The toroidal mode waves in the dawn and dusk flanks are in anti-phase. We found that electron can be accelerated jointly by the poloidal wave in the dayside and toroidal wave in flanks. The dayside poloidal wave serves as the dominant source of electron acceleration. The simulated electron flux variations agree well with observations both in fine details and long period behavior. These agreements in electron behavior indicate that the ULF wave plays an important role in accelerating MeV relativistic electrons around the geosynchronous orbit.
Fung, Shing↗
Plasma waves in the polar cusp - Observations from Hawkeye 1
Based on data from the Hawkeye 1 spacecraft in the polar-cusp vicinity, the characteristics of plasma waves are studied. Four types of plasma waves are identified: (1) a band of ULF-ELF magnetic noise, (2) broadband electrostatic emissions with maximum intensities at 10-50 Hz, (3) electrostatic electron cyclotron waves near electron gyrofrequency, and (4) whistler mode auroral hiss emissions. Only ULF-ELF noise is a reliable index of the polar cusp region. Since ULF-ELF magnetic noise extends only to the local electron gyrofrequency, it is suggested that the noise consists of whistler-mode electromagnetic waves. Possible mechanisms for this noise include the whistler-mode cyclotron-resonance, Kelvin-Helmholtz, and drift-wave instabilities. It is felt that a current-driven electrostatic instability causes the broadband electrostatic noise.
Gurnett, D. A.↗
Simultaneous Observations of Localized and Global Drift Resonance
In this study, we present Van Allen Probe observations showing that seed (hundreds of keV) and core ( ≳ 1 MeV) electrons can resonate with ultra-low-frequency (ULF) wave modes with distinctive m values simultaneously. An unusual electron energy spectrogram with double-banded resonant structure was recorded by energetic particle, composition, and thermal plasma (ECT)-magnetic electron ion spectrometer (MagEIS) and, meanwhile, boomerang stripes in pitch angle spectrogram appeared at the lower energy band. A localized drift resonance with m = 10 wave component was responsible for the resonant band peaked at ~200 keV while a global drift resonance with m = 3 component gave rise to the upper band resonance peaked at ~1 MeV. Time-Of-Flight on boomerang stripes suggested that the localized drift resonance with ~200 keV electrons was confined within the plasmaspheric plume. Electron flux modulations were reproduced by numerical simulations in good consistency with the observations, supporting the scenario that localized and global drift resonance could coexist in the outer belt electron dynamics simultaneously.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Facilitating Heliophysics Research by the Virtual Wave Observatory (VWO) Context Data Search Capability
Wave phenomena, ranging from freely propagating electromagnetic radiation (e.g., solar radio bursts, AKR) to plasma wave modes trapped in various plasma regimes (e.g., whistlers, Langmuir and ULF waves) and atmospheric gravity waves, are ubiquitous in the heliosphere. Because waves can propagate, wave data obtained at a given observing location may pertain to wave oscillations generated locally or from afar. While wave data analysis requires knowledge of wave characteristics specific to different wave modes, the search for appropriate data for heliophysics wave studies also requires knowledge of wave phenomena. In addition to deciding whether the interested wave activity is electrostatic (i.e., locally trapped) or electromagnetic (with propagation over distances), considerations must be given to the dependence of the wave activity on observer's location or viewing geometry, propagating frequency range and whether the wave data were acquired by passive or active observations. Occurances of natural wave emissions i the magnetosphere (e.g, auroral kilometric radiation) are often dependent also on the state (e.e., context) of the magnetosphere that varies with the changing solar wind, IMF and geomagnetic conditions. Fung and Shao [2008] showed recently that magnetospheric state can be specified by a set of suitably time-shifted solar wind, IMF and the multi-scale geomagnetic response parameters. These parameters form a magnetospheric state vector that provides the basis for searching magnetospheric wave data by their context conditions. Using the IMAGE Radio Plasma Imager (RPI) data and the NASA Magnetospheric State Query System (MSOS) [Fung, 2004], this presentation demonstrates the VWO context data search capability under development and solicits feedback from the Heliophysics research community for improvements.
Fung, Shing F.↗
The effect of parallel currents on auroral micropulsations
Field aligned currents play an important role in the global coupling between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere and in their relationship to the auroral phenomena. Moreover, there exists evidence that resonant oscillations are related to large-scale Birkeland currents. The spatial confinement of the field-aligned currents forms an inhomogeneous system susceptible to low-frequency oscillations, which can be excited due to periodic variations in the solar wind pressure or to the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability. In this paper we present a study of ultralow-frequency (ULF) oscillations in an inhomogeneous magnetic field formed by a large-scale current. We investigate the effects of the field-aligned currents on the generation of localized Alfven waves. The field oscillations are described by an eigenvalue wave equation which includes the effects of the field aligned currents and which produces a discrete spectrum of Alfven waves. These waves are observed mainly in three regions of the magnetosphere: in the magnetosheath, in the polar cusp, and in the plasmasphere. In the present study we limit our investigation to the auroral region.
Tavares, M.↗
On propagation direction of ring current proton ULF waves observed by ATS 6 at 6.6 R sub E
From June 11 to September 16, 1974, the NOAA low-energy proton detector on board the ATS 6 satellite observed 71 cases of ultralow-frequency oscillations of proton flux intensities. The oscillation periods varied from 40 s to 6 min, and the events were observed most frequently during moderate geomagnetic conditions. The flux oscillations occurred at various local times, yet almost two thirds of the events were detected in the near-dusk region of the magnetosphere. For a majority of the events in this set a substantial phase shift in flux oscillation was detected between different energy channels and/or between two oppositely oriented detector telescopes. The phase shift is mainly due to the finite gyroradius effect of the protons gyrating in the geomagnetic field. By examining this finite gyroradius effect on the perturbed particle distribution function associated with the wave in a nonuniform magnetic field, the propagation direction of the wave from particle observations made by a single spacecraft is determined
Su, S.-Y.↗
Multipoint Spacecraft Observations of Long-Lasting Poloidal Pc4 Pulsations in the Dayside Magnetosphere on 1-2 May 2014
We use magnetic field and plasma observations from the Van Allen Probes, Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system (GOES) spacecraft to study the spatial and temporal characteristics of long-lasting poloidal Pc4 pulsations in the dayside magnetosphere. The pulsations were observed after the main phase of a moderate storm during low geomagnetic activity. The pulsations occurred during various interplanetary conditions and the solar wind parameters do not seem to control the occurrence of the pulsations. The most striking feature of the Pc4 magnetic field pulsations was their occurrence at similar locations during three of four successive orbits. We used this information to study the latitudinal nodal structure of the pulsations and demonstrated that the latitudinal extent of the magnetic field pulsations did not exceed 2 Earth radii (R(sub E)). A phase shift between the azimuthal and radial components of the electric and magnetic fields was observed from Z(sub SM) = 0.30 R(sub E) to Z(sub SM) = -0.16 R(sub E). We used magnetic and electric field data from Van Allen Probes to determine the structure of ULF waves. We showed that the Pc4 magnetic field pulsations were radially polarized and are the second-mode harmonic waves. We suggest that the spacecraft were near a magnetic field null during the second orbit when they failed to observe the magnetic field pulsations at the local times where pulsations were observed on previous and successive orbits. We investigated the spectral structure of the Pc4 pulsations. Each spacecraft observed a decrease of the dominant period as it moved to a smaller L shell (stronger magnetic field strength). We demonstrated that higher frequencies occurred at times and locations where Alfven velocities were greater, i.e., on Orbit 1. There is some evidence that the periods of the pulsations increased during the plasmasphere refilling following the storm.
Korotova, Galina↗
Variable field-to-normal angles in the shock foreshock boundary observed by ISEE 1 and 2
Saturated ULF waves in the foreshock, with amplitudes comparable to the magnitude of the average field, are convected by the solar wind to the quasi-parallel shock where the average field-normal angle is less than, or about, 45 deg. Several examples from ISEE 1 and 2 magnetometer data show waves that defined local, instantaneous field-normal angles very different periodically from the average. Local geometric conditions at the nominally quasi-parallel shock varied from nearly parallel to nearly perpendicular, at the periods of typical upstream waves. Clear magnetic shock transitions occurred under temporarily quasi-perpendicular geometry.
Greenstadt, E. W.↗
Observations of intense ULF pulsation activity near the geomagnetic equator during quiet times
This paper analyzes observations, made by particle and field instruments on the AMPTE CCE satellite, of intense ULF pulsations in the earth's magnetosphere near the geomagnetic equator. These pulsations were observed during magnetically quiet periods in regions characterized by intense fluxes of warm strongly trapped light ions, predominantly H(+), and often with streaming low-energy plasma. The strong latitudinal localization of these pulsations is interpreted to be due to equatorial mass loading or to partial reflection of Alfven wave energy by latitudinal gradients in plasma density. Possible sources of wave energy for these events are discussed.
Engebretson, M. J.↗
Field-aligned currents, convection electric fields, and ULF-ELF waves in the cusp
Nearly simultaneous observations from the Triad and Hawkeye satellites over the Southern Hemisphere, at low altitudes near the noon meridian and close to the usual polar cusp latitudes, show that in and near the polar cusp there exist several relationships between field-aligned currents (FACs), convection electric fields, ULF-ELF magnetic noise, broadband electrostatic noise and interplanetary magnetic fields. The most important findings are (1) the FACs directed into the ionosphere in the noon-to-dusk local time sector and directed away from the ionosphere in the noon-to-dawn local time sector and identified as region-1 permanent FACs (Iijima and Potemra, 1976a) and are located equatorward of the regions of antisunward (westward) convection; (2) the observations are consistent with a two-cell convection pattern symmetric in one case (throat positioned at noon) and asymmetric in another (throat located in a sector on the forenoon side in juxtaposition to the region of strong convection on the afternoon side); and (3) fine-structure FACs are responsible for the generation of ULF-ELF noise in the polar cusp.
Saflekos, N. A.↗
Statistical studies of Pc 3-5 pulsations and their relevance for possible source mechanisms of ULF waves
A number of statistical studies using spacecraft data have been made of ULF waves in the magnetosphere. These studies provide an overview of ULF pulsation activity for r = 5-15 R(E) and allow an assessment of likely source mechanisms. In this review pulsations are categorized into five general types: compressional Pc 5, poloidal Pc 4, toroidal harmonics, toroidal Pc 5 (fundamental mode), and incoherent noise. The occurrence distributions and/or distributions of wave power of the different types suggest that compressional Pc 5 and poloidal Pc 4 derive their energy locally, most likely from energetic protons. The toroidal pulsations, both harmonic and fundamental mode, appear to be driven by an energy source outside the magnetopause - directly upstream in the sheath and solar wind for harmonics and the flanks for fundamentals. Incoherent pulsations are a prominent pulsation type but from their occurrence distribution alone it is unclear what their dominant energy source may be.
Anderson, Brian J.↗
A multipoint case study of high-latitude daytime ULF pulsations
A multipoint case study approach is used to delineate significant morphological differences between, and distinct sources for, two kinds of high-latitude dayside ULF wave activity in the Pc 3 to Pi 1 frequency range. Evidence is presented that narrow-band Pc 3-4 pulsations appear roughly simultaneously at widely spaced locations in the dayside magnetosphere and polar cap and that their occurrence/intensity is controlled by the cone angle of the IMF, while broadband Pi 1 type activity appears to be related closely to precipitation of energetic plasma sheet electrons, hence more localized ionospheric activity. Additional evidence is provided that the cusp/cleft regions play a significant part in the transmission to low altitudes of at least some of the wave energy of solar wind-controlled pulsations.
Engebretson, M. J.↗
Plasma waves in the dayside polar cusp. II - Magnetopause and polar magnetosheath
During the outbound pass of Nov. 1, 1968, Ogo 5 sporadically encountered the low-altitude polar cusp at low magnetic latitudes. The spacecraft remained in the cusp beyond six earth radii, and it then traversed the interface region between the magnetospheric cusp and the magnetosheath. Two large scale discontinuities were detected in this sheath-cusp transition region, and several possible interpretations are evaluated here. At 1427 UT, local changes in magnetic field orientation and the variation in ULF magnetic power spectral density were typical of shifts detected at the magnetopause, although the spacecraft did not traverse a true boundary of warm plasma at this point. The second discontinuity, detected at 1456 UT, resembled a collisionless shock, and it was characterized by observations of intense, impulsive VLF electric field bursts and rapid local variations in both total ion flux and differential electron flux. The simplest interpretation is that Ogo 5 had traversed a standing shock within the sheath.
Scarf, F. L.↗