HR: 10:20h
AN: SM31E-01    [PDF]
TI: Plasma sheet formation from solar and ionospheric sources
AU: * Moore, T E
EM: thomas.e.moore@nasa.gov
AF: NASA's Goddard SFC, Mail Code 692, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Fok, M
EM: mei-ching.fok@nasa.gov
AF: NASA's Goddard SFC, Mail Code 692, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Allen, W
EM: wallen@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Howard University, 2400 Sixth St. NW, Washington, DC 20059 United States
AU: Buenfil, M
EM: manuel.buenfil@nasa.gov
AF: NASA's Goddard SFC, Mail Code 692, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Christon, S P
EM: schriston@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA's Goddard SFC, Mail Code 692, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Delcourt, D C
EM: dominique.delcourt@cetp.ipsl.fr
AF: CETP, 4, Ave de Neptune, St. Maur, 94107 France
AB: The population of the plasma sheet with ions is considered in the framework of collisionless particle motions in 3D magnetospheric fields. Simulation results are compared with observations of the near-Earth plasma sheet from the Polar spacecraft, during 2001 and 2002. To support comparison of velocity distributions, large numbers of particle trajectories are initiated in two regions representative of the solar wind source (within the LLBL) and the ionospheric photothermal H+ ion source (outside the plasmasphere). All trajectories run until they either precipitate into the atmosphere or escape from the magnetospheric simulation space, leading to a database of particle characteristics in each volume of the magnetosphere, yielding velocity distributions where sufficient numbers of particles pass through a volume. We report results reflecting steady conditions of modest activity, corresponding to IMF Bz approximately zero. The results exhibit structuring of the magnetospheric plasmas according to source region, with some mixed regions as well. The Polar observations appear consistent with the simulations, while the simulations help us discriminate between solar and ionospheric H+ ions in the Polar measurements.
UR: http://tem692.gsfc.nasa.gov
DE: 2164 Solar wind plasma
DE: 2736 Magnetosphere/ionosphere interactions
DE: 2744 Magnetotail
DE: 2764 Plasma sheet
SC: SPA - Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting