Articles | Volume 35, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-11-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-35-11-2017
Regular paper
 | 
03 Jan 2017
Regular paper |  | 03 Jan 2017

On the response of quasi-adiabatic particles to magnetotail reconfigurations

Dominique C. Delcourt, Helmi V. Malova, and Lev M. Zelenyi

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On the supply of heavy planetary material to the magnetotail of Mercury
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Short summary
In a magnetic field reversal, the guiding center may not be valid due to large variation of the magnetic field on the length scale of the particle gyro-radius. Although they do not execute regular helical motion and temporarily meander inside the field reversal, quasi-adiabatic particles exit this reversal with a magnetic moment nearly identical to that at entry. We show that this behavior, which is a steady-state concept, can persist during dipolarization despite the induced electric field.