95 research outputs found
Double peak structure and diamagnetic wings of the magnetotail current sheet
International audienceRecent Cluster observations in the magnetotail at about 20 Earth radii downtail have unambiguously shown that sometimes the current sheet is bifurcated, i.e. it is divided in two layers. We report numerical simulations of the ion dynamics in a quasi-neutral sheet in the presence of magnetic turbulence, which is often observed in the magnetotail, and for various anisotropies of the ion distribution function. Ions are injected at the boundary of the simulation box with a velocity distribution corresponding to a shifted Maxwellian. The simulation parameters, are adjusted to be similar to those of Cluster observations. We find that even for moderate fluctuation levels, the computed current density profile develops a double peak, in agreement with the observations. By varying the anisotropy of the injected distribution function, we are able to reproduce, for weak anisotropy, the magnetic field overshoots which are sometimes observed prior to magnetotail traversals. Therefore, we suggest an ion current profile with a double peak due to magnetic turbulence, and with possible diamagnetic current wings, present in the case of weak anisotropy of the ion distribution function
Magnetic turbulence and particle dynamics in the Earth's magnetotail
International audienceThe influence of magnetic turbulence in the near-Earth magnetotail on ion motion is investigated by numerical simulation. The magnetotail current sheet is modelled as a magnetic field reversal with a normal magnetic field com-ponent Bn , plus a three-dimensional spectrum of magnetic fluctuations dB which represents the observed magnetic turbulence. The dawn-dusk electric field Ey is also considered. A test particle simulation is performed using different values of Bn and of the fluctuation level dB/B0. We show that when the magnetic fluctuations are taken into account, the particle dynamics is deeply affected, giving rise to an increase in the cross tail transport, ion heating, and current sheet thickness. For strong enough turbulence, the current splits in two layers, in agreement with recent Cluster observations
The role of oxygen ions in the formation of a bifurcated current sheet in the magnetotail
Cluster observations in the near-Earth magnetotail have shown that sometimes
the current sheet is bifurcated, i.e. it is divided in two layers. The
influence of magnetic turbulence on ion motion in this region is investigated
by numerical simulation, taking into account the presence of both protons and
oxygen ions. The magnetotail current sheet is modeled as a magnetic field
reversal with a normal magnetic field component , plus a three-dimensional
spectrum of magnetic fluctuations , which represents the
observed magnetic turbulence. The dawn-dusk electric field E is also
included. A test particle simulation is performed using different values of
, E and injecting two different species of particles, O
ions and protons. O ions can support the formation of a double current
layer both in the absence and for large values of magnetic fluctuations
( and , where B is the constant
magnetic field in the magnetospheric lobes).Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. J. Geophys. Res., in pres
Dust-driven Dynamos in Accretion Disks
Magnetically driven astrophysical jets are related to accretion and involve
toroidal magnetic field pressure inflating poloidal magnetic field flux
surfaces. Examination of particle motion in combined gravitational and magnetic
fields shows that these astrophysical jet toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields
can be powered by the gravitational energy liberated by accreting dust grains
that have become positively charged by emitting photo-electrons. Because a dust
grain experiences magnetic forces after becoming charged, but not before,
charging can cause irreversible trapping of the grain so dust accretion is a
consequence of charging. Furthermore, charging causes canonical angular
momentum to replace mechanical angular momentum as the relevant constant of the
motion. The resulting effective potential has three distinct classes of
accreting particles distinguished by canonical angular momentum, namely (i)
"cyclotron-orbit", (ii) "Speiser-orbit", and (iii) "zero canonical angular
momentum" particles. Electrons and ions are of class (i) but depending on mass
and initial orbit inclination, dust grains can be of any class. Light-weight
dust grains develop class (i) orbits such that the grains are confined to
nested poloidal flux surfaces, whereas grains with a critical weight such that
they experience comparable gravitational and magnetic forces can develop class
(ii) or class (iii) orbits, respectively producing poloidal and toroidal field
dynamos.Comment: 70 pages, 16 figure
Growth rates of the Weibel and tearing mode instabilities in a relativistic pair plasma
We present an algorithm for solving the linear dispersion relation in an
inhomogeneous, magnetised, relativistic plasma. The method is a generalisation
of a previously reported algorithm that was limited to the homogeneous case.
The extension involves projecting the spatial dependence of the perturbations
onto a set of basis functions that satisfy the boundary conditions (spectral
Galerkin method). To test this algorithm in the homogeneous case, we derive an
analytical expression for the growth rate of the Weibel instability for a
relativistic Maxwellian distribution and compare it with the numerical results.
In the inhomogeneous case, we present solutions of the dispersion relation for
the relativistic tearing mode, making no assumption about the thickness of the
current sheet, and check the numerical method against the analytical
expression.Comment: Accepted by PPC
Numerical simulation of ion dynamics in the magnetotail magnetic turbulence: On collisionless conductivity
International audienceThe ion dynamics in the distant Earth's magnetotail is studied in the case that a cross tail electric field and reconnection parity magnetic turbulence are present in the neutral sheet. A test particle simulation is performed for the ions, and moments of the ion distribution function are obtained as a function of the magnetic fluctuation level, ?B/B0, and of the value of the cross tail electric field, Ey. It is found that magnetic turbulence can split the current carrying region into a double current sheet, in agreement with inferences from observations in the distant magnetotail. The problem of ion conductivity is addressed by varying the value of the cross tail electric field from zero to the observed one: we find that Ohm's law is not enforced, and that a non local, system dependent conductivity is necessary to describe the ion response to the electric field. Also, it appears that the relation between current and electric field may be nonlinear
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