Particle acceleration in the magnetotail and aurora
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Discipline
Physical sciences
Subject
Acceleration mechanisms
Aurora
Auroral arcs
Magnetic reconnections
Magnetotails
Parallel electric fields
Particle acceleration
Particle precipitation
Particle-in-cell simulations
Quasi-stationary
Reconnection
Substorm injections
Substorms
Test particles
Electric fields
Ionosphere
Magnetohydrodynamics
Particle accelerators
Precipitation (chemical)
Magnetoplasma
Audience
Scientific
Date
2012Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
This paper deals with acceleration processes in the magnetotail and the processes that enhance particle precipitation from the tail into the ionosphere through electric fields in the auroral acceleration region, generating or intensifying discrete auroral arcs. Particle acceleration in the magnetotail is closely related to substorms and the occurrence, and consequences, of magnetic reconnection. We discuss major advances in the understanding of relevant acceleration processes on the basis of simple analytical models, magnetohydrodynamic and test particle simulations, as well as full electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations. The auroral acceleration mechanisms are not fully understood, although several, sometimes competing, theories and models received experimental support during the last decades. We review recent advances that emphasize the role of parallel electric fields produced by quasi-stationary or Alfvénic processes.
Citation
Birn, J.; Artemyev, A.V.; Baker, D.N.; Echim, M.; Hoshino, M.; Zelenyi, L.M. (2012). Particle acceleration in the magnetotail and aurora. , Space Science Reviews, Vol. 173, Issue 1-4, 49-102, DOI: 10.1007/s11214-012-9874-4.Identifiers
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng