DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025532
Scopus记录号: 2-s2.0-85050780254
论文题名: Multi-instrument Investigation of the Location of Saturn's Magnetotail X-Line
作者: Smith A.W. ; Jackman C.M. ; Thomsen M.F. ; Lamy L. ; Sergis N.
刊名: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
ISSN: 21699380
出版年: 2018
卷: 123, 期: 7 起始页码: 5494
结束页码: 5505
语种: 英语
英文关键词: Cassini
; magnetic reconnection
; magnetotail
; Saturn
英文摘要: Reconnection is a fundamentally important process in planetary magnetospheres, with both local and global effects. At Saturn, observations of the magnetotail reconnection site (or x-line) are rare, with only one in situ encounter reported to date. In this work, an extensive database of plasmoids and dipolarizations (Smith et al., 2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JA022005) was investigated from a multi-instrument perspective in order to probe the location and variability of the magnetotail x-line. Several clear intervals were identified in which the x-line location could be indirectly inferred to move on relatively short timescales. Two case studies are presented, the first of which concerns short-lived flows, suggesting the reconnection sites can be either short-lived (∼10 minutes) or extremely azimuthally limited (∼3RS/0.4 hr of local time). The second interval concerns the tailward motion of the reconnection site (or sites), inferred from the increasing electron temperature (and diminishing electron density) associated with the flows. This tailward motion occurs over ∼2.5 hr (approximately a quarter of a planetary rotation). The composition of the suprathermal plasma suggests that this could be an example of the gradual depletion of mass-loaded flux tubes (that must occur prior to lobe reconnection). These case studies are consistent with previous statistical work that suggested that the site of reconnection in the Kronian magnetotail can be highly dynamic. ©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/113538
Appears in Collections: 气候减缓与适应
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作者单位: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom; Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, United States; LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, PSL, UPMC, UPD, Meudon, France; Office of Space Research and Technology, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece; Institute of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece
Recommended Citation:
Smith A.W.,Jackman C.M.,Thomsen M.F.,et al. Multi-instrument Investigation of the Location of Saturn's Magnetotail X-Line[J]. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics,2018-01-01,123(7)