Published April 17, 2009
| Version v1
Journal article
Observations of Double Layers in Earth's Plasma Sheet
Creators
- 1. Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States)
- 2. Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States)
- 3. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90055 (United States)
- 4. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720 (United States)
- 5. Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala (Sweden)
- 6. Center for Integrated Plasma Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309 (United States)
- 7. Centre d'etude des Environnements Terrestre et Planetaires, Velizy (France)
- 8. TUBS, Braunschweig, D-38106 (Germany)
- 9. Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, A-8042 Graz (Austria)
Description
We report the first direct observations of parallel electric fields (Eparallel) carried by double layers (DLs) in the plasma sheet of Earth's magnetosphere. The DL observations, made by the THEMIS spacecraft, have Eparallel signals that are analogous to those reported in the auroral region. DLs are observed during bursty bulk flow events, in the current sheet, and in plasma sheet boundary layer, all during periods of strong magnetic fluctuations. These observations imply that DLs are a universal process and that strongly nonlinear and kinetic behavior is intrinsic to Earth's plasma sheet
Additional details
Identifiers
Publishing Information
- Journal Title
- Physical Review Letters
- Journal Volume
- 102
- Journal Issue
- 15
- Journal Page Range
- p. 155002-155002.5
- ISSN
- 0031-9007
- CODEN
- PRLTAO
INIS
- Country of Publication
- United States
- Country of Input or Organization
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- INIS RN
- 40054588
- Subject category
- S71: CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; S70: PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY;
- Descriptors DEI
- BOUNDARY LAYERS; ELECTRIC FIELDS; FLUCTUATIONS; NONLINEAR PROBLEMS; PLASMA SHEET
- Descriptors DEC
- EARTH ATMOSPHERE; EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE; LAYERS; VARIATIONS
Optional Information
- Notes
- (c) 2009 The American Physical Society