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Found 11 entries in the Bibliography.
Showing entries from 1 through 11
| 2021 |
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Superposed Epoch Analysis of Dispersionless Particle Injections Inside Geosynchronous Orbit AbstractDispersionless injections, involving sudden, simultaneous flux enhancements of energetic particles over some broad range of energy, are a characteristic signature of the particles that are experiencing a significant acceleration and/or rapid inward transport at the leading edge of injections. We have statistically analyzed data from Van Allen Probes (also known as RBSP ) to reveal where the proton (H+) and electron (e–) dispersionless injections occur preferentially inside geosynchronous orbit and how they develop depending on local magnetic field changes. By surveying measurements of RBSP during four tail seasons in 2012–2019, we have identified 171 dispersionless injection events. Most of the events, which are accompanied by local magnetic dipolarizations, occur in the dusk-to-midnight sector, regardless of particle species. Out of the selected 171 events, 75 events exhibit dispersionless injections of both H+ and e–, which occur within 2 minutes of each other. With only three exceptions, the both-species injection events are further divided into two main subgroups: One is the H+ preceding e– events with a time offset of tens of seconds between H+ and e–, and the other the concurrent H+ and e– events without any time offset. Our superposed epoch results raise the intriguing possibility that the presence or absence of a pronounced negative dip in the local magnetic field ahead of the concurrent sharp dipolarization determines which of the two subgroups will occur. The difference between the two subgroups may be explained in terms of the dawn-dusk asymmetry of localized diamagnetic perturbations ahead of a deeply-penetrating dipolarization front.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Motoba, T.; Ohtani, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Ukhorskiy, A; Lanzerotti, L.; Claudepierre, S.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 07/2021 YEAR: 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JA029546 Dispersionless injections; substorms; inner magnetosphere; Van Allen Probes |
| 2020 |
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Dynamic Properties of Particle Injections Inside Geosynchronous Orbit: A Multisatellite Case Study Four closely located satellites at and inside geosynchronous orbit (GEO) provided a great opportunity to study the dynamical evolution and spatial scale of premidnight energetic particle injections inside GEO during a moderate substorm on 23 December 2016. Just following the substorm onset, the four spacecraft, a LANL satellite at GEO, the two Van Allen Probes (also called “RBSP”) at ~5.8 RE, and a THEMIS satellite at ~5.3 RE, observed substorm-related particle injections and local dipolarizations near the central meridian (~22 MLT) of a wedge-like current system. The large-scale evolution of the electron and ion (H, He, and O) injections was almost identical at the two RBSP spacecraft with ~0.5 RE apart. However, the initial short-timescale particle injections exhibited a striking difference between RBSP-A and -B: RBSP-B observed an energy dispersionless injection which occurred concurrently with a transient, strong dipolarization front (DF) with a peak-to-peak amplitude of ~25 nT over ~25 s; RBSP-A measured a dispersed/weaker injection with no corresponding DF. The spatiotemporally localized DF was accompanied by an impulsive, westward electric field (~20 mV m−1). The fast, impulsive E × B drift caused the radial transport of the electron and ion injection regions from GEO to ~5.8 RE. The penetrating DF fields significantly altered the rapid energy- and pitch angle-dependent flux changes of the electrons and the H and He ions inside GEO. Such flux distributions could reflect the transient DF-related particle acceleration and/or transport processes occurring inside GEO. In contrast, O ions were little affected by the DF fields. Motoba, T.; Ohtani, S.; Claudepierre, S.; Reeves, G.; Ukhorskiy, A; Lanzerotti, L.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2020 YEAR: 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA028215 deep particle injections; dipolarizations; substorms; localized DF; Van Allen Probes |
| 2019 |
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Global Empirical Picture of Magnetospheric Substorms Inferred From Multimission Magnetometer Data Magnetospheric substorms represent key explosive processes in the interaction of the Earth\textquoterights magnetosphere with the solar wind, and their understanding and modeling are critical for space weather forecasting. During substorms, the magnetic field on the nightside is first stretched in the antisunward direction and then it rapidly contracts earthward bringing hot plasmas from the distant space regions into the inner magnetosphere, where they contribute to geomagnetic storms and Joule dissipation in the polar ionosphere, causing impressive splashes of aurora. Here we show for the first time that mining millions of spaceborne magnetometer data records from multiple missions allows one to reconstruct the global 3-D picture of these stretching and dipolarization processes. Stretching results in the formation of a thin (less than the Earth\textquoterights radius) and strong current sheet, which is diverted into the ionosphere during dipolarization. In the meantime, the dipolarization signal propagates further into the inner magnetosphere resulting in the accumulation of a longer lived current there, giving rise to a protogeomagnetic storm. The global 3-D structure of the corresponding substorm currents including the substorm current wedge is reconstructed from data. Stephens, G.; Sitnov, M.; Korth, H.; Tsyganenko, N.; Ohtani, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Ukhorskiy, A; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 01/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025843 Current sheet thinning; Data-mining; Magnetotail dipolarization; Storm-substorm relationship; substorm current wedge; substorms; Van Allen Probes |
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Low-Energy ( The heavy ion component of the low-energy (eV to hundreds of eV) ion population in the inner magnetosphere, also known as the O+ torus, is a crucial population for various aspects of magnetospheric dynamics. Yet even though its existence has been known since the 1980s, its formation remains an open question. We present a comprehensive study of a low-energy ( Gkioulidou, Matina; Ohtani, S.; Ukhorskiy, A; Mitchell, D.; Takahashi, K.; Spence, H.; Wygant, J.; Kletzing, C.; Barnes, R.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 01/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025862 |
| 2018 |
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Response of Different Ion Species to Local Magnetic Dipolarization Inside Geosynchronous Orbit This paper examines how hydrogen, helium and oxygen (H, He and O) ion fluxes at 1\textendash1000 keV typically respond to local magnetic dipolarization inside geosynchronous orbit (GEO). We extracted 144 dipolarizations which occurred at magnetic inclination > 30\textdegree from the 2012\textendash2016 tail seasons\textquoteright observations of the Van Allen Probes spacecraft and then defined typical flux changes of these ion species by performing a superposed epoch analysis. On average, the dipolarization inside GEO is accompanied by a precursory transient decrease in the northward magnetic field component, transient impulsive enhancement in the westward electric field component, and decrease (increase) in the proton density (temperature). The coincident ion species experience an energy-dependent flux change, consisting of enhancement (depression) at energies above (below) ~50 keV. These properties morphologically resemble those around dipolarization fronts (or fast flows) in the near-Earth tail. A distinction among the ion species is the average energy of the flux ratio peak, being at 200\textendash400 keV (100\textendash200 keV) for He (H and O) ions. The flux ratio peaks at different energies likely reflect the different charge states of injected ionospheric- and/or solar wind-origin ion species. The ion spectra become harder for sharp dipolarizations, suggesting the importance of accompanying electric field in transporting and/or energizing the ions efficiently. Interestingly, the average flux ratio peak does not differ significantly among the ion species for ~2 min after onset, which implies that mass-dependent acceleration process is less important in the initial stage of dipolarization. Motoba, T.; Ohtani, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Ukhorskiy, A.; Mitchell, D.; Takahashi, K.; Lanzerotti, L.; Kletzing, C.; Spence, H.; Wygant, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025557 deep inside geosynchronous orbit; dipolarizations; Ion injections; ion species; Van Allen Probes |
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Spatial Development of the Dipolarization Region in the Inner Magnetosphere The present study examines dipolarization events observed by the Van Allen Probes within 5.8 RE from Earth. It is found that the probability of occurrence is significantly higher in the dusk-to-midnight sector than in the midnight-to-dawn sector, and it deceases sharply earthward. A comparison with observations made at nearby satellites shows that dipolarization signatures are often highly correlated (c.c. > 0.8) within 1 hr in MLT and 1 RE in RXY, and the dipolarization region expands earthward and westward in the dusk-to-midnight sector. The westward expansion velocity is estimated at 0.4 hr (in MLT) per minute, or 60 km/s, which is consistent with the previously reported result for geosynchronous dipolarization. The earthward expansion is apparently less systematic than the westward expansion. Its velocity is estimated at 50 km/s (0.5 RE/min), comparable to the westward expansion velocity, but it is suggested that the earthward expansion slows down as the dipolarization region approaches Earth, and it eventually stops. This idea is consistent with the earthward reduction of the occurrence probability of dipolarization events. Whereas this earthward expansion is difficult to explain with the conventional wedge current system, it may be understood in terms of a current system with two wedges, one with the R1 polarity outside and the other with the R2 polarity closer to Earth. For such a current system the region of dipolarization is confined in radial distance between the two wedge currents, and it is considered to expand earthward as the R2-sense wedge moves earthward along with injected plasma. Ohtani, S.; Motoba, T.; Gkioulidou, M.; Takahashi, K.; Singer, H.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025443 Dipolarization; injection; inner magnetosphere; R1 and R2 currents; substorm current wedge; substorms; Van Allen Probes |
| 2017 |
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Previous observations have driven the prevailing assumption in the field that energetic ions measured by an instrument using a bare solid state detector (SSD) are predominantly protons. However, new near-equatorial energetic particle observations obtained between 7 and 12 RE during Phase 1 of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission challenge the validity of this assumption. In particular, measurements by the Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS) instruments have revealed that the intensities of heavy ion species (specifically oxygen and helium) dominate those of protons at energies math formula150-220 keV in the middle to outer (>7 RE) magnetosphere. Given that relative composition measurements can drift as sensors degrade in gain, quality cross-calibration agreement between EIS observations and those from the SSD-based Fly\textquoterights Eye Energetic Particle Spectrometer (FEEPS) sensors provides critical support to the veracity of the measurement. Similar observations from the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instruments aboard the Van Allen Probes spacecraft extend the ion composition measurements into the middle magnetosphere and reveal a strongly proton-dominated environment at math formula, but decreasing proton intensities at math formula. It is concluded that the intensity dominance of the heavy ions at higher energies (>150 keV) arises from the existence of significant populations of multiply-charged heavy ions, presumably of solar wind origin. Cohen, Ian; Mitchell, Donald; Kistler, Lynn; Mauk, Barry; Anderson, Brian; Westlake, Joseph; Ohtani, Shinichi; Hamilton, Douglas; Turner, Drew; Blake, Bern; Fennell, Joseph; Jaynes, Allison; Leonard, Trevor; Gerrard, Andrew; Lanzerotti, Louis; Allen, Robert; Burch, James; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 08/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024351 energetic ion composition; magnetospheric ion composition; Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS); outer magnetosphere; ring current composition; suprathermal ions; Van Allen Probes |
| 2016 |
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Void structure of O + ions in the inner magnetosphere observed by the Van Allen Probes The Van Allen Probes Helium Oxygen Proton Electron instrument observed a new type of enhancement of O+ ions in the inner magnetosphere during substorms. As the satellite moved outward in the premidnight sector, the flux of the O+ ions with energy ~10 keV appeared first in the energy-time spectrograms. Then, the enhancement of the flux spread toward high and low energies. The enhanced flux of the O+ ions with the highest energy remained, whereas the flux of the ions with lower energy vanished near apogee, forming what we call the void structure. The structure cannot be found in the H+ spectrogram. We studied the generation mechanism of this structure by using numerical simulation. We traced the trajectories of O+ ions in the electric and magnetic fields from the global magnetohydrodynamics simulation and calculated the flux of O+ ions in the inner magnetosphere in accordance with the Liouville theorem. The simulated spectrograms are well consistent with the ones observed by Van Allen Probes. We suggest the following processes. (1) When magnetic reconnection starts, an intensive equatorward and tailward plasma flow appears in the plasma lobe. (2) The flow transports plasma from the lobe to the plasma sheet where the radius of curvature of the magnetic field line is small. (3) The intensive dawn-dusk electric field transports the O+ ions earthward and accelerates them nonadiabatically to an energy threshold; (4) the void structure appears at energies below the threshold. Nakayama, Y.; Ebihara, Y.; Ohtani, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Takahashi, K.; Kistler, L.; Tanaka, T.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 11/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023013 injections; nonadiabatic acceleration; substorms; Van Allen Probes |
| 2015 |
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Magnetotail processes and structures related to substorm growth phase/onset auroral arcs remain poorly understood mostly due to the lack of adequate observations. In this study we make a comparison between ground-based optical measurements of the premidnight growth phase/onset arcs at subauroral latitudes and magnetically conjugate measurements made by the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE) at ~780 km in altitude and by the Van Allen Probe B (RBSP-B) spacecraft crossing L values of ~5.0\textendash5.6 in the premidnight inner tail region. The conjugate observations offer a unique opportunity to examine the detailed features of the arc location relative to large-scale Birkeland currents and of the magnetospheric counterpart. Our main findings include (1) at the early stage of the growth phase the quiet auroral arc emerged ~4.3\textdegree equatorward of the boundary between the downward Region 2 (R2) and upward Region 1 (R1) currents; (2) shortly before the auroral breakup (poleward auroral expansion) the latitudinal separation between the arc and the R1/R2 demarcation narrowed to ~1.0\textdegree; (3) RBSP-B observed a magnetic field signature of a local upward field-aligned current (FAC) connecting the arc with the near-Earth tail when the spacecraft footprint was very close to the arc; and (4) the upward FAC signature was located on the tailward side of a local plasma pressure increase confined near L ~5.2\textendash5.4. These findings strongly suggest that the premidnight arc is connected to highly localized pressure gradients embedded in the near-tail R2 source region via the local upward FAC. Motoba, T.; Ohtani, S.; Anderson, B.; Korth, H.; Mitchell, D.; Lanzerotti, L.; Shiokawa, K.; Connors, M.; Kletzing, C.; Reeves, G.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 10/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/jgra.v120.1010.1002/2015JA021676 FACs; growth phase/onset arc; M-I coupling; Van Allen Probes |
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Recent results by the Van Allen Probes mission showed that the occurrence of energetic ion injections inside geosynchronous orbit could be very frequent throughout the main phase of a geomagnetic storm. Understanding, therefore, the formation and evolution of energetic particle injections is critical in order to quantify their effect in the inner magnetosphere. We present a case study of a substorm event that occurred during a weak storm (Dst ~ - 40 nT) on 14 July 2013. Van Allen Probe B, inside geosynchronous orbit, observed two energetic proton injections within ten minutes, with different dipolarization signatures and duration. The first one is a dispersionless, short timescale injection pulse accompanied by a sharp dipolarization signature, while the second one is a dispersed, longer timescale injection pulse accompanied by a gradual dipolarization signature. We combined ground magnetometer data from various stations, and in-situ particle and magnetic field data from multiple satellites in the inner magnetosphere and near-Earth plasma sheet to determine the spatial extent of these injections, their temporal evolution, and their effects in the inner magnetosphere. Our results indicate that there are different spatial and temporal scales at which injections can occur in the inner magnetosphere and depict the necessity of multipoint observations of both particle and magnetic field data in order to determine these scales. Gkioulidou, Matina; Ohtani, S.; Mitchell, D.; Ukhorskiy, A.; Reeves, G.; Turner, D.; Gjerloev, J.; e, Nos\; Koga, K.; Rodriguez, J.; Lanzerotti, L.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 02/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020872 |
| 2009 |
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[1] The present study statistically examines geosynchronous magnetic configurations and external conditions that characterize the loss of geosynchronous MeV electrons. The loss of MeV electrons often takes place during magnetospheric storms, but it also takes place without any clear storm activity. It is found that irrespective of storm activity, the day-night asymmetry of the geosynchronous H (north-south) magnetic component is pronounced during electron loss events. For the loss process, the magnitude, rather than the duration, of the magnetic distortion appears to be important, and its effective duration can be as short as \~30 min. The solar wind dynamic pressure tends to be high and interplanetary magnetic field BZ tends to be southward during electron loss events. Under such external conditions the dayside magnetopause moves closer to Earth, and the day-night magnetic asymmetry is enhanced. As a consequence the area of closed drift orbits shrinks. The magnetic field at the subsolar magnetopause, which is estimated from force balance with the solar wind dynamic pressure, is usually stronger than the nightside geosynchronous magnetic field during electron loss events. It is therefore suggested that geosynchronous MeV electrons on the night side are very often on open drift paths when geosynchronous MeV electrons are lost. Whereas the present result does not preclude the widely accepted idea that MeV electrons are lost to the atmosphere by wave-particle interaction, it suggests that magnetopause shadowing is another plausible loss process of geosynchronous MeV electrons. Ohtani, S.; Miyoshi, Y.; Singer, H.; Weygand, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research Published on: 01/2009 YEAR: 2009 DOI: 10.1029/2008JA013391 |
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