|
|
 |
|
|
Ann. Geophys., 25, 769-777, 2007
www.ann-geophys.net/25/769/2007/
© European Geosciences Union 2007
Geotail observations of temperature anisotropy of the two-component protons in the dusk plasma sheet
M. N. Nishino1, M. Fujimoto1, T. Terasawa2, G. Ueno3, K. Maezawa1, T. Mukai4, and Y. Saito1
1ISAS/JAXA, Kanagawa 228-8510, Japan
2Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
3Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Tokyo 106-8569, Japan
4JAXA, Tokyo 100-8260, Japan
Abstract. In search for clues towards the understanding of the cold plasma sheet
formation under northward IMF, we study the temperature anisotropy of the
two-component protons in the plasma sheet near the dusk low-latitude boundary
observed by the Geotail spacecraft. The two-component protons result from
mixing of the cold component from the solar wind and the hot component of the
magnetospheric origin, and may be the most eloquent evidence for the
transport process across the magnetopause. The cold component occasionally
has a strong anisotropy in the dusk flank, and the sense of the anisotropy
depends on the observed locations: the parallel temperature is enhanced in
the tail flank while the perpendicular temperature is enhanced on the
dayside. The hot component is nearly isotropic in the tail while the
perpendicular temperature is enhanced on the dayside. We discuss possible
mechanism that can lead to the observed temperature anisotropies.
Full Article in PDF (8664 KB) Corrigendum |
|
|
