scholarly journals Downward ion acceleration at auroral latitudes: cause of parallel electric field

2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1117-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Hultqvist
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Pitch Angle ◽  
Difference Set ◽  
Potential Difference ◽  
Local Times ◽  
Parallel Electric Field ◽  
Energetic Electrons ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Set Up

Abstract. Observations with the Freja satellite at about 1700 km altitude of downward accelerated ions in the keV and sub-keV energy range are described and analysed. The observations show the following: (1) Processes involving velocity dispersion are not important; (2) Ion pitch-angle distributions are mostly somewhat field aligned but not far from isotropic, so the ions are effectively spread in pitch-angle; (3) As all ion species, H +, O +, and He +, are found to be accelerated to the same energy, the only possible known acceleration mechanism is a potential difference along the magnetic field lines; (4) No significant Birkeland current features are associated with the ion precipitation; (5) Precipitation of energetic electrons from the plasma sheet is always present when the downward accelerated ions are observed; (6) Ion precipitation is generally not seen in regions with primary auroral Birkeland currents associated with electron inverted-V distributions; (7) Precipitated ions are mostly observed at low and medium disturbance levels, but they are also found in strongly disturbed conditions; (8) Downward accelerated ions occur fairly frequently at auroral latitudes near Freja apogee altitudes and are seen at all local times. The present investigation is limited to the nightside. The above observational results are found to be consistent with the physical mechanism for producing a downward-pointing parallel electric field proposed by Hultqvist (1971). That mechanism is basically one of an ambipolar potential difference set up by the energetic electrons from the plasma sheet.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (electric fields; energetic particles, precipitating; magnetosphere – ionosphere interactions)

Auroral ionization and incident magnetospheric electrons

1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (21) ◽  
pp. 2537-2541 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Catchpoole
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Equatorial Plane ◽  
Pitch Angle ◽  
Magnetic Line ◽  
Parallel Electric Field ◽  
Energetic Electrons ◽  
Significant Control ◽  
Isotropic Distribution

A model is studied in which the supply of energetic electrons from a spiralling magnetospheric path to auroral atmospheric heights is considered. In particular, a calculation is made of the effect on atmospheric penetration which might be expected as a result of the combined influence of two magnetospheric accelerating mechanisms: (a) magnetic line convergence and (b) the superposition of a parallel electric field. This determination depends on details of energy and pitch angle distributions for precipitated electrons, and is made with reference to an isotropic distribution in the equatorial plane. Results indicate the significant control by magnetospheric electric fields on auroral ionization.

scholarly journals Double layers in the downward current region of the aurora

2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Ergun ◽  
L. Andersson ◽  
C. W. Carlson ◽  
D. L. Newman ◽  
M. V. Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Electron Beam ◽  
Phase Space ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Double Layers ◽  
Parallel Electric Field ◽  
Electrostatic Waves ◽  
Current Region ◽  
Decisive Evidence

Abstract. Direct observations of magnetic-field-aligned (parallel) electric fields in the downward current region of the aurora provide decisive evidence of naturally occurring double layers. We report measurements of parallel electric fields, electron fluxes and ion fluxes related to double layers that are responsible for particle acceleration. The observations suggest that parallel electric fields organize into a structure of three distinct, narrowly-confined regions along the magnetic field (B). In the "ramp" region, the measured parallel electric field forms a nearly-monotonic potential ramp that is localized to ~ 10 Debye lengths along B. The ramp is moving parallel to B at the ion acoustic speed (vs) and in the same direction as the accelerated electrons. On the high-potential side of the ramp, in the "beam" region, an unstable electron beam is seen for roughly another 10 Debye lengths along B. The electron beam is rapidly stabilized by intense electrostatic waves and nonlinear structures interpreted as electron phase-space holes. The "wave" region is physically separated from the ramp by the beam region. Numerical simulations reproduce a similar ramp structure, beam region, electrostatic turbulence region and plasma characteristics as seen in the observations. These results suggest that large double layers can account for the parallel electric field in the downward current region and that intense electrostatic turbulence rapidly stabilizes the accelerated electron distributions. These results also demonstrate that parallel electric fields are directly associated with the generation of large-amplitude electron phase-space holes and plasma waves.

scholarly journals Electric potential differences across auroral generator interfaces

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. De Keyser ◽  
M. Echim
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Electric Potential ◽  
Equilibrium Configuration ◽  
Potential Difference ◽  
Field Profile ◽  
Electric Potential Difference ◽  
Electric Field Profile

Abstract. Strong localized high-altitude auroral electric fields, such as those observed by Cluster, are often associated with magnetospheric interfaces. The type of high-altitude electric field profile (monopolar, bipolar, or more complicated) depends on the properties of the plasmas on either side of the interface, as well as on the total electric potential difference across the structure. The present paper explores the role of this cross-field electric potential difference in the situation where the interface is a tangential discontinuity. A self-consistent Vlasov description is used to determine the equilibrium configuration for different values of the transverse potential difference. A major observation is that there exist limits to the potential difference, beyond which no equilibrium configuration of the interface can be sustained. It is further demonstrated how the plasma densities and temperatures affect the type of electric field profile in the transition, with monopolar electric fields appearing primarily when the temperature contrast is large. These findings strongly support the observed association of monopolar fields with the plasma sheet boundary. The role of shear flow tangent to the interface is also examined.

scholarly journals RF-Carpets that Compress Ions to High Density Beams

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (S4) ◽  
pp. 84-89
Author(s):  
H. Wollnik ◽  
F. Arai ◽  
Y. Ito ◽  
P. Schury ◽  
M. Wada
Keyword(s):  
Phase Space ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Ion Beams ◽  
High Density ◽  
Ion Density ◽  
Field Lines

AbstractIons that are moved by electric fields in gases follow quite exactly the electric field lines since these ions have substantially lost their kinetic energies in collisions with gas atoms or molecules and so carry no momenta. Shaping the electric fields appropriately the phase space such ion beams occupy can be reduced and correspondingly the ion density of beams be increased.

Fringe fields are important when examining molecular orientation in a cold ammonia beam

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Bertier ◽  
Brianna Heazlewood
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Molecular Orientation ◽  
Molecular Beam ◽  
Buffer Gas ◽  
State Distribution ◽  
Experimental Apparatus ◽  
Set Up ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Fringe Fields

Abstract External fields have been widely adopted to control and manipulate the properties of gas-phase molecular species. In particular, electric fields have been shown to focus, filter and decelerate beams of polar molecules. While there are several well-established approaches for controlling the velocity and quantum-state distribution of reactant molecules, very few of these methods have examined the orientation of molecules in the resulting beam. Here we show that a buffer gas cell and three-bend electrostatic guide (coupled to a time-of-flight set-up) can be configured such that 70% of ammonia molecules in the cold molecular beam are oriented to an external electric field at the point of detection. With a minor alteration to the set-up, an approximately statistical distribution of molecular orientation is seen. These observations are explained by simulations of the electric field in the vicinity of the mesh separating the quadrupole guide and the repeller plate. The combined experimental apparatus therefore offers control over three key properties of a molecular beam: the rotational state distribution, the beam velocity, and the molecular orientation. Exerting this level of control over the properties of a molecular beam opens up exciting prospects for our ability to understand what role each parameter plays in reaction studies.

scholarly journals Mapping of steady-state electric fields and convective drifts in geomagnetic fields – Part 1: Elementary models

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. M. Walker ◽  
G. J. Sofko
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Magnetic Field Line ◽  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Geomagnetic Field Models ◽  
Spatial Derivatives ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Abstract. When studying magnetospheric convection, it is often necessary to map the steady-state electric field, measured at some point on a magnetic field line, to a magnetically conjugate point in the other hemisphere, or the equatorial plane, or at the position of a satellite. Such mapping is relatively easy in a dipole field although the appropriate formulae are not easily accessible. They are derived and reviewed here with some examples. It is not possible to derive such formulae in more realistic geomagnetic field models. A new method is described in this paper for accurate mapping of electric fields along field lines, which can be used for any field model in which the magnetic field and its spatial derivatives can be computed. From the spatial derivatives of the magnetic field three first order differential equations are derived for the components of the normalized element of separation of two closely spaced field lines. These can be integrated along with the magnetic field tracing equations and Faraday's law used to obtain the electric field as a function of distance measured along the magnetic field line. The method is tested in a simple model consisting of a dipole field plus a magnetotail model. The method is shown to be accurate, convenient, and suitable for use with more realistic geomagnetic field models.

scholarly journals The Acceleration of Outer-Belt Electrons by Localized Electric Fields

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-482
Author(s):  
A. P. Kropotkin
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Relativistic Electrons ◽  
Strong Component ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Energetic Electrons ◽  
Geomagnetic Tail ◽  
Night Side ◽  
Bursty Bulk Flows

Abstract To explain the populations of the outer-belt energetic electrons, including relativistic electrons, that sporadically appear in the magnetosphere, a mechanism was proposed long ago for the acceleration of those electrons by short-term bursts of the electric field, which appear on the night side during substorm disturbances (Kropotkin, 1996). This mechanism can be substantially specified if the modern concepts of bursty bulk flows in the geomagnetic tail, the occurrence of dipolarization fronts, and the excitation of localized field-aligned-resonant poloidal Alfvén oscillations involving a strong component of the electric field in the dawn-dusk direction are taken into account.

scholarly journals The occurrence frequency of auroral potential structures and electric fields as a function of altitude using Polar/EFI data

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1233-1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Janhunen ◽  
A. Olsson ◽  
H. Laakso
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Radial Distance ◽  
Plasma Potential ◽  
Potential Structure ◽  
New Finding ◽  
Low Altitude ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Auroral Arcs

Abstract. The aim of the paper is to study how auroral potential structures close at high altitude. We analyse all electric field data collected by Polar on auroral field lines in 1996–2001 by integrating the electric field along the spacecraft orbit to obtain the plasma potential, from which we identify potential minima by an automatic method. From these we estimate the associated effective mapped-down electric field Ei, defined as the depth of the potential minimum divided by its half-width in the ionosphere. Notice that although we use the ionosphere as a reference altitude, the field Ei does not actually exist in the ionosphere but is just a convenient computational quantity. We obtain the statistical distribution of Ei as a function of altitude, magnetic local time (MLT), Kp index and the footpoint solar illumination condition. Surprisingly, we find two classes of electric field structures. The first class consists of the low-altitude potential structures that are presumably associated with inverted-V regions and discrete auroral arcs and their set of associated phenomena. We show that the first class exists only below ~3RE radial distance, and it occurs in all nightside MLT sectors (RE=Earth radius). The second class exists only above radial distance R=4RE and almost only in the midnight MLT sector, with a preference for high Kp values. Interestingly, in the middle altitudes (R=3–4RE) the number of potential minima is small, suggesting that the low and high altitude classes are not simple field-aligned extensions of each other. This is also underlined by the fact that statistically the high altitude structures seem to be substorm-related, while the low altitude structures seem to correspond to stable auroral arcs. The new finding of the existence of the two classes is important for theories of auroral acceleration, since it supports a closed potential structure model for stable arcs, while during substorms, different superposed processes take place that are associated with the disconnected high-altitude electric field structures. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (electric fields; auroral phenomena) – Space plasma physics (electrostatic structures)

An Electroscope System Based on Electric Field Measurement Method for UHV Transmission Lines

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Yang ◽  
Wei He ◽  
Tao Chen ◽  
Xiaochu Luo ◽  
Yongchang Fu
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Transmission Lines ◽  
Field Measurement ◽  
Measurement Method ◽  
Electric Field Measurement ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Global Regularization ◽  
Uhv Transmission Lines ◽  
Internet Network

The paper describes an electric field measurement method based electroscope system to check the electrification state of ultra-high voltage transmission lines, which is composed of three parts: 1) Measuring terminal; 2) Central sever; 3) GPRS and Internet network. The measuring terminal was used to measure the electric field and the location of the measuring points, then the measured data was sent to the central sever by GPRS and Internet network, and requested for an electricity state confirmation.When the sever received a request from a terminal, the electric fields and locations of the measuring points were obtained first, then according to the location of the measuring points, the server searches the corresponding objective transmission lines in the database and read their parameters. According to the parameters of the measuring points and transmission lines, a calculation would be carried out to confirm the electrification state of the transmission lines. For the confirmation calculation, equations for the electric field inverse problem of the transmission lines were set up first, then global regularization and damped Gauss Newton (DGN) method were used to solve the inverse problem.A 500kV double loops transmission line was taken as an example to verify the validity of this method. The electric field and location of 11 measuring points were measured by the measuring terminal firstly, and then sent to the central sever. Electrification state was confirmed by the central sever.

scholarly journals Simultaneous optical, CUTLASS HF radar, and FAST spacecraft observations: signatures of boundary layer processes in the cusp

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Oksavik ◽  
F. Søraas ◽  
J. Moen ◽  
R. Pfaff ◽  
J. A. Davies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Spectral Width ◽  
Hf Radar ◽  
Optical Data ◽  
Low Energy Electrons ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Auroral Phenomena ◽  
Electric Fields And Currents

Abstract. In this paper we discuss counterstreaming electrons, electric field turbulence, HF radar spectral width enhancements, and field-aligned currents in the southward IMF cusp region. Electric field and particle observations from the FAST spacecraft are compared with CUTLASS Finland spectral width enhancements and ground-based optical data from Svalbard during a meridional crossing of the cusp. The observed 630nm rayed arc (Type-1 cusp aurora) is associated with stepped cusp ion signatures. Simultaneous counterstreaming low-energy electrons on open magnetic field lines lead us to propose that such electrons may be an important source for rayed red arcs through pitch angle scattering in collisions with the upper atmosphere. The observed particle precipitation and electric field turbulence are found to be nearly collocated with the equatorward edge of the optical cusp, in a region where CUTLASS Finland also observed enhanced spectral width. The electric field turbulence is observed to extend far poleward of the optical cusp. The broad-band electric field turbulence corresponds to spatial scale lengths down to 5m. Therefore, we suggest that electric field irregularities are directly responsible for the formation of HF radar backscatter targets and may also explain the observed wide spectra. FAST also encountered two narrow highly structured field-aligned current pairs flowing near the edges of cusp ion steps. Key words. Ionosphere (electric fields and currents). Magnetosphere physics (magnetopause, cusp, and boundary layers; auroral phenomena)

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