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    Direct observation of closed magnetic flux trapped in the high-latitude magnetosphere

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    Fear(2014).pdf (5.798Mb)
    Authors
    Fear, R.C.
    Milan, S.E.
    Maggiolo, R.
    Fazakerley, A.N.
    Douras, I.
    Mende, S.B.
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    Discipline
    Physical sciences
    Subject
    aurora
    latitude
    magnetic field
    magnetosphere
    magnetotail
    plasma
    satellite imagery
    Audience
    Scientific
    Date
    2014
    Metadata
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    Description
    The structure of Earth's magnetosphere is poorly understood when the interplanetary magnetic field is northward. Under this condition, uncharacteristically energetic plasma is observed in the magnetotail lobes, which is not expected in the textbook model of the magnetosphere. Using satellite observations, we show that these lobe plasma signatures occur on high-latitude magnetic field lines that have been closed by the fundamental plasma process of magnetic reconnection. Previously, it has been suggested that closed flux can become trapped in the lobe and that this plasma-trapping process could explain another poorly understood phenomenon: the presence of auroras at extremely high latitudes, called transpolar arcs. Observations of the aurora at the same time as the lobe plasma signatures reveal the presence of a transpolar arc. The excellent correspondence between the transpolar arc and the trapped closed flux at high altitudes provides very strong evidence of the trapping mechanism as the cause of transpolar arcs.
    Citation
    Fear, R.C.; Milan, S.E.; Maggiolo, R.; Fazakerley, A.N.; Douras, I.; Mende, S.B. (2014). Direct observation of closed magnetic flux trapped in the high-latitude magnetosphere. , Science, Vol. 346, Issue 6216, 1506-1510, DOI: 10.1126/science.1257377.
    Identifiers
    uri: https://orfeo.belnet.be/handle/internal/2853
    doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1257377
    scopus: 2-s2.0-84919458999
    Type
    Article
    Peer-Review
    Yes
    Language
    eng
    Links
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