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Cluster observations of the midaltitude cusp under strong northward interplanetary magnetic field
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Hu, R. (Ren-Yu), Bogdanova, Y. V., Owen, C. J. (Christopher J.), Foullon, C. (Claire), Fazakerley, A. N. and Rème, H. (2008) Cluster observations of the midaltitude cusp under strong northward interplanetary magnetic field. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol.113 . doi:10.1029/2007JA012726 ISSN 0148-0227.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007JA012726
Abstract
We report on a multispacecraft cusp observation lasting more than 100 min. We
determine the cusp boundary motion and reveal the effect on the cusp size of the
interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) changing from southward to northward. The cusp
shrinks at the beginning of the IMF rotation and it reexpands at the rate of 0.40°
invariant latitude per hour under stable northward IMF. On the basis of plasma signatures
inside the cusp, such as counterstreaming electrons with balanced fluxes, we propose
that pulsed dual lobe reconnection operates during the time of interest. SC1 and
SC4 observations suggest a long-term regular periodicity of the pulsed dual reconnection,
which we estimate to be ~1–5 min. Further, the distances from the spacecraft to
the reconnection site are estimated on the basis of observations from three satellites. The
distance determined using SC1 and SC4 observations is ~15 RE and that determined
from SC3 data is ~8 RE. The large-scale speed of the reconnection site sunward motion is
~16 km s-1. We observe also a fast motion of the reconnection site by SC1, which
provides new information about the transitional phase after the IMF rotation. Finally, a
statistical study of the dependency of plasma convection inside the cusp on the IMF clock
angle is performed. The relationship between the cusp stagnation, the dual lobe
reconnection process, and the IMF clock angle is discussed.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | Q Science > QB Astronomy | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Polar cusp, Interplanetary magnetic fields | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Geophysical Research | ||||
Publisher: | American Geophysical Union | ||||
ISSN: | 0148-0227 | ||||
Official Date: | 2008 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.113 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1029/2007JA012726 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
Funder: | University College London, Guo jia zi ran ke xue ji jin wei yuan hui (China) [National Natural Science Foundation of China] (NSFC), Qing hua da xue (Beijing, China) [Tsinghua University], Science and Technology Facilities Council (Great Britain) (STFC) | ||||
Grant number: | 10533020 (NSFC), SRFDP 20050003088 (Tsinghua) |
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