Mapping MMS Observations of Solitary Waves in Earth's Magnetic Field

Hansel, Paul James; Wilder, F. D.; Malaspina, D.; Ergun, R. E.; Ahmadi, N.; Holmes, J. C.; Goodrich, K.; Fuselier, S. A.; Giles, B. L.; Russell, C. T.; Torbert, R. B.; Strangeway, R. J.; Khotyaintsev, Yuri; Lindqvist, Per-Arne; Burch, J. L.

doi:10.1029/2021ja029389

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Bipolar electric field structures propagating parallel to the magnetic field have been observed in many regions of Earth's magnetosphere (see for example Hansel et al (2021) and references therein). An interesting feature of these observations is that the structures often appear in large clusters, as is clearly demonstrated by Bale et al (1998) and Bounds et al (1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elastic overtaking collisions of large-amplitude ion-acoustic solitons

Olivier

2024

J. Plasma Phys.

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Overtaking collisions of large-amplitude solitons are investigated via fluid simulations for a plasma consisting of cold ions and Boltzmann-distributed electrons. To achieve this, a new fluid simulation code is presented. In addition, a novel approach to construct soliton initial conditions is developed. Using these ideas, initial conditions are combined that allows the simulation of overtaking collisions. It is shown that, in the small-amplitude regime, simulation results agree well with the two-soliton solution obtained from reductive perturbation theory. Interestingly, in the large amplitude regime, both the slow and fast solitons re-emerge after the collision with no significant change, showing that the collisions remain elastic. A comparison between reductive perturbation analysis and the simulations show that the only significant effect of higher order nonlinearities on overtaking collisions is a reduction in the magnitude of the phase shifts of both solitons.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elastic overtaking collisions of large-amplitude ion-acoustic solitons

Olivier

2024

J. Plasma Phys.

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“…High-resolution electric field measurements aboard modern spacecraft in numerous regions of the near-Earth space revealed the presence of electrostatic solitary waves, localized electrostatic structures with typically bipolar electric field parallel to the local magnetic field (Mozer et al, 2015;Pickett, 2021;Hansel et al, 2021). Prior to the high-resolution measurements, only a signature of solitary waves, broadband electrostatic fluctuations in spectral measurements, was observed (Gurnett et al, 1976(Gurnett et al, , 1979Gurnett, 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slow Electron Holes in the Earth's Magnetosheath

Shaikh,

Vasko,

Hutchinson

et al. 2024

JGR Space Physics

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We present a statistical analysis of electrostatic solitary waves observed aboard Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft in the Earth's magnetosheath. Applying single‐spacecraft interferometry to several hundred solitary waves collected in about 2‐minute interval, we show that almost all of them have the electrostatic potential of positive polarity and propagate quasi‐parallel to the local magnetic field with plasma frame velocities of the order of 100 km/s. The solitary waves have typical parallel half‐widths from 10 to 100 m that is between 1 and 10 Debye lengths and typical amplitudes of the electrostatic potential from 10 to 200 mV that is between 0.01% and 1% of local electron temperature. The solitary waves are associated with quasi‐Maxwellian ion velocity distribution functions, and their plasma frame velocities are comparable with ion thermal speed and well below electron thermal speed. We argue that the solitary waves of positive polarity are slow electron holes and estimate the time scale of their acceleration, which occurs due to interaction with ions, to be of the order of one second. The observation of slow electron holes indicates that their lifetime was shorter than the acceleration time scale. We argue that multi‐spacecraft interferometry applied previously to these solitary waves is not applicable because of their too‐short spatial scales. The source of the slow electron holes and the role in electron‐ion energy exchange remain to be established.

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Plasma wave survey from Parker Solar Probe observations during Venus gravity assists

George,

Malaspina,

Lee-Bellows

et al. 2024

A&A

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Context. Parker Solar Probe (PSP) performs Venus gravity assists (VGAs) in order to lower its perihelion. PSP takes high-cadence electric and magnetic field observations during these VGAs, providing the opportunity to study plasma waves in Venus’s induced magnetosphere. Aims. We summarize the plasma environment during these VGAs, including the regions of near-Venus space that PSP traversed and the key boundary crossings. We comprehensively identify Langmuir, ion acoustic, whistler-mode, and ion cyclotron waves during these VGAs and map the location of these waves throughout near-Venus space. Methods. This study analyzes different data products from the PSP FIELDS instrument suite from throughout the first five VGAs. Results. We compare the FIELDS instrumentation capabilities to the capabilities of the plasma wave instruments on board the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) and the Venus Express (VEX). We find that the PVO electric field instrument was well suited to observe Langmuir waves, especially near the bow shock and in the foreshock. However, evaluation of the other plasma waves detected by PSP FIELDS reveals that PVO and VEX would have often been unable to observe key features of these waves modes, including maximum power, bandwidth, and propagation direction. These wave characteristics provide critical information on the wave generation mechanisms and wave-particle interactions, so provide fundamental information on the nature of Venus’s induced magnetosphere. Conclusions. These results highlight the advances in plasma wave instrumentation capabilities that have been made in the decades since the PVO and VEX eras, and illustrate the value of a plasma wave instrument on a new Venus mission.

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Mapping MMS Observations of Solitary Waves in Earth's Magnetic Field

Cited by 3 publications

References 44 publications

Elastic overtaking collisions of large-amplitude ion-acoustic solitons

Elastic overtaking collisions of large-amplitude ion-acoustic solitons

Slow Electron Holes in the Earth's Magnetosheath

Plasma wave survey from Parker Solar Probe observations during Venus gravity assists

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