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Kinetic structures of electron diffusion regions (EDRs) under finite guide fields in magnetotail reconnection are reported. The EDRs with guide fields 0.14–0.5 (in unit of the reconnecting component) are detected by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. The key new features include the following: (1) cold inflowing electrons accelerated along the guide field and demagnetized at the magnetic field minimum while remaining a coherent population with a low perpendicular temperature, (2) wave fluctuations generating strong perpendicular electron flows followed by alternating parallel flows inside the reconnecting current sheet under an intermediate guide field, and (3) gyrophase bunched electrons with high parallel speeds leaving the X‐line region. The normalized reconnection rates for the three EDRs range from 0.05 to 0.3. The measurements reveal that finite guide fields introduce new mechanisms to break the electron frozen‐in condition.

This paper presents Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) observations of the exhaust region in the vicinity of the central reconnection site in Earth's magnetopause current sheet. High-time-resolution measurements of field and particle distributions enable us to explore the fine structure of the diffusion region near the X line. Ions are decoupled from the magnetic field throughout the entire current sheet crossing. Electron jets flow downstream from the X line at speeds greater than the E by B drift velocity. At or around the magnetospheric separatrix, large-amplitude electric fields containing field-aligned components accelerate electrons along the magnetic field toward the X line. Near the neutral sheet, crescent-shaped electron distributions appear coincident with (1) an out-of-plane electric field whose polarity is opposite to that of the reconnection electric field and (2) the energy transfer from bulk kinetic to field energy. The observations indicate that MMS passed through the edge of an elongated electron diffusion region (EDR) or the outer EDR in the exhaust region.

On 15 August 2015, MMS (Magnetospheric Multiscale mission), skimming the dusk magnetopause, detected an isolated region of an increased magnetic strength and bipolar Bn, indicating a flux transfer event (FTE). The four spacecraft in a tetrahedron allowed for investigations of the shape and motion of the FTE. In particular, high-resolution particle data facilitated our exploration of FTE substructures and their magnetic connectivity inside and surrounding the FTE. Combined field and plasma observations suggest that the core fields are open, magnetically connected to the northern magnetosphere from which high-energy particles leak; ion "D" distributions characterize the axis of flux ropes that carry old-opened field lines; counter streaming electrons superposed by parallel-heated components populate the periphery surrounding the FTE; and the interface between the core and draped regions contains a separatrix of newlyopened magnetic field lines that emanate from the X line above the FTE.

We present observations of asymmetric magnetic reconnection showing evidence of electron demagnetization in the electron outflow. The observations were made at the magnetopause by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, separated by approximately 15 km. The reconnecting current sheet has negligible guide field, and all four spacecraft likely pass close to the electron diffusion region just south of the X line. In the electron outflow near the X line, all four spacecraft observe highly structured electron distributions in a region comparable to a few electron gyroradii. The distributions consist of a core with T(sub parallel) greater than T(sub perpendicular) and a nongyrotropic crescent perpendicular to the magnetic field. The crescents are associated with finite gyroradius effects of partly demagnetized electrons. These observations clearly demonstrate the manifestation of finite gyroradius effects in an electron-scale reconnection current sheet.

The structure of asymmetric magnetopause reconnection is explored with multiple point and high-time-resolution ion velocity distribution observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. On 9 September 2015, reconnection took place at the magnetopause, which separated the magnetosheath and the magnetosphere with a density ratio of 25:2. The magnetic field intensity was rather constant, even higher in the asymptotic magnetosheath. The reconnected field line region had a width of approximately 540 km. In this region, streaming and gyrating ions are discriminated. The large extension of the reconnected field line region toward the magnetosheath can be identified where a thick layer of escaping magnetospheric ions was formed. The scale of the magnetosheath side of the reconnected field line region relative to the scale of its magnetospheric side was 4.5:1.

We report Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of macroscopic and electron-scale current layers in asymmetric reconnection. By intercomparing plasma, magnetic, and electric field data at multiple crossings of a reconnecting magnetopause on 22 October 2015, when the average interspacecraft separation was approximately 10 km, we demonstrate that the ion and electron moments are sufficiently accurate to provide reliable current density measurements at 30ms cadence. These measurements, which resolve current layers narrower than the interspacecraft separation, reveal electron-scale filamentary Hall currents and electron vorticity within the reconnection exhaust far downstream of the X line and even in the magnetosheath. Slightly downstream of the X line, intense (up to 3 μA/m2) electron currents, a super-Alfvenic outflowing electron jet, and nongyrotropic crescent shape electron distributions were observed deep inside the ion-scale magnetopause current sheet and embedded in the ion diffusion region. These characteristics are similar to those attributed to the electron dissipation/diffusion region around the X line.

The four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft recorded the first direct evidence of reconnection exhausts associated with Kelvln-Helmholtz (KH) waves at the duskside magnetopause on 8 September 2015 which allows for local mass and energy transport across the flank magnetopause. Pressure anisotropy-weighted Walen analyses confirmed in-plane exhausts across 22 of 42 KH-related trailing magnetopause current sheets (CSs). Twenty-one jets were observed by all spacecraft, with small variations in ion velocity, along the same sunward or antisunward direction with nearly equal probability. One exhaust was only observed by the MMS-1,2 pair, while MMS-3,4 traversed a narrow CS (1.5 ion inertial length) in the vicinity of an electron diffusion region. The exhausts were locally 2-D planar in nature as MMS-1, 2 observed almost identical signatures separated along the guide-field. Asymmetric magnetic and electric Hall fields are reported in agreement with a strong guide-field and a weak plasma density asymmetry across the magnetopause CS.

We present Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of an electron-scale current sheet and electron outflow jet for asymmetric reconnection with guide field at the subsolar magnetopause. The electron jet observed within the reconnection region has an electron Mach number of 0.35 and is associated with electron agyrotropy. The jet is unstable to an electrostatic instability which generates intense waves with E(sub parallel lines) amplitudes reaching up to 300 mV/m and potentials up to 20% of the electron thermal energy. We see evidence of interaction between the waves and the electron beam, leading to quick thermalization of the beam and stabilization of the instability. The wave phase speed is comparable to the ion thermal speed, suggesting that the instability is of Buneman type, and therefore introduces electron-ion drag and leads to braking of the electron flow. Our observations demonstrate that electrostatic turbulence plays an important role in the electron-scale physics of asymmetric reconnection.

We report evidence for reconnection between colliding reconnection jets in a compressed current sheet at the center of a magnetic flux rope at Earth's magnetopause. The reconnection involved nearly symmetric Inflow boundary conditions with a strong guide field of two. The thin (2.5 ion-skin depth (d(sub i) width) current sheet (at approximately 12 d(sub i) downstream of the X line) was well resolved by MMS, which revealed large asymmetries in plasma and field structures in the exhaust. Ion perpendicular heating, electron parallel heating, and density compression occurred on one side of the exhaust, while ion parallel heating and density depression were shifted to the other side. The normal electric field and double out-of-plane (bifurcated) currents spanned almost the entire exhaust. These observations are in good agreement with a kinetic simulation for similar boundary conditions, demonstrating in new detail that the structure of large guide field symmetric reconnection is distinctly different from antiparallel reconnection.

We report on field-aligned current observations by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft near the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) during two major substorms on 23 June 2015. Small-scale field-aligned currents were found embedded in fluctuating PSBL flux tubes near the Separatrix region. We resolve, for the first time, short-lived earthward (downward) intense field-aligned current sheets with thicknesses of a few tens of kilometers, which are well below the ion scale, on flux tubes moving equatorward earth ward during outward plasma sheet expansion. They coincide with upward field-aligned electron beams with energies of a few hundred eV. These electrons are most likely due to acceleration associated with a reconnection jet or high-energy ion beam-produced disturbances. The observations highlight coupling of multiscale processes in PSBL as a consequence of magnetotail reconnection.

New Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations of small-scale (approx. 7 ion inertial length radius) flux transfer events (FTEs) at the dayside magnetopause are reported. The 1O km MMS tetrahedron size enables their structure and properties to be calculated using a variety of multispacecraft techniques, allowing them to be identified as flux ropes, whose flux content is small (approx. 22 kWb).The current density, calculated using plasma and magnetic field measurements independently, is found to be filamentary. lntercomparison of the plasma moments with electric and magnetic field measurements reveals structured non-frozen-in ion behavior. The data are further compared with a particle-in-cell simulation. It is concluded that these small-scale flux ropes, which are not seen to be growing, represent a distinct class of FTE which is generated on the magnetopause by secondary reconnection.

Based on high-resolution measurements from NASA's Magnetospheric Multlscale mission, we present the dynamics of electrons associated with current systems observed near the diffusion region of magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause. Using pitch angle distributions (PAD) and magnetic curvature analysis, we demonstrate the occurrence of electron scattering in the curved magnetic field of the diffusion region down to energies of 20eV. We show that scattering occurs closer to the current sheet as the electron energy decreases. The scattering of Inflowing electrons, associated with field-aligned electrostatic potentials and Hall currents, produces a new population of scattered electrons with broader PAD which bounce back and forth in the exhaust. Except at the center of the diffusion region the two populations are collocated and appear to behave adiabatically: the inflowing electron PAD focuses inward (toward lower magnetic field), while the bouncing population PAD gradually peaks at 90 degrees away from the center (where it mirrors owing to higher magnetic field and probable field-aligned potentials).

The hybrid kinetic model supports comprehensive simulation of the interaction between different spatial and energetic elements of the Europa-moon-magnetosphere system with respect to variable upstream magnetic field and flux or density distributions of plasma and energetic ions, electrons, and neutral atoms. This capability is critical for improving the interpretation of the existing Europa flyby measurements from the Galileo orbiter mission, and for planning flyby and orbital measurements, (including the surface and atmospheric compositions) for future missions. The simulations are based on recent models of the atmosphere of Europa (Cassidy etal.,2007;Shematovichetal.,2005). In contrast to previous approaches with MHD simulations, the hybrid model allows us to fully take into account the finite gyro radius effect and electron pressure, and to correctly estimate the ion velocity distribution and the fluxes along the magnetic field (assuming an initial Maxwellian velocity distribution for upstream background ions).Non-thermal distributions of upstream plasma will be addressed in future work. Photoionization,electron-impact ionization, charge exchange and collisions between the ions and neutrals are also included in our model. We consider two models for background plasma:(a) with O(++) ions; (b) with O(++) and S(++) ions. The majority of O2 atmosphere is thermal with an extended cold population (Cassidyetal.,2007). A few first simulations already include an induced magnetic dipole; however, several important effects of induced magnetic fields arising from oceanic shell conductivity will be addressed in later work.

This study employs Geotail plasma observations and numerical modeling to determine sources of the ions observed in the near-Earth magnetotail near midnight during a substorm. The growth phase has the low-latitude boundary layer as its most important source of ions at Geotail, but during the expansion phase the plasma mantle is dominant. The mantle distribution shows evidence of two distinct entry mechanisms: entry through a high latitude reconnection region resulting in an accelerated component, and entry through open field lines traditionally identified with the mantle source. The two entry mechanisms are separated in time, with the high-latitude reconnection region disappearing prior to substorm onset.

We investigate the origins and the transport of ions observed in the near-Earth plasma sheet during the growth and expansion phases of a magnetospheric substorm that occurred on November 24, 1996. Ions observed at Geotail were traced backward in time in time-dependent magnetic and electric fields to determine their origins and the acceleration mechanisms responsible for their energization. Results from this investigation indicate that, during the growth phase of the substorm, most of the ions reaching Geotail had origins in the low latitude boundary layer (LLBL) and had alread@, entered the magnetosphere when the growth phase began. Late in the growth phase and in the expansion phase a higher proportion of the ions reaching Geotail had their origin in the plasma mantle. Indeed, during the expansion phase more than 90% of the ions seen by Geotail were from the mantle. The ions were accelerated enroute to the spacecraft; however, most of the ions' energy gain was achieved by non-adiabatic acceleration while crossing the equatorial current sheet just prior to their detection by Geotail. In general, the plasma mantle from both southern and northern hemispheres supplied non-adiabatic ions to Geotail, whereas the LLBL supplied mostly adiabatic ions to the distributions measured by the spacecraft.

This paper reports a comparison between Geotail observations of plasmas and magnetic fields at 200 R(sub E) in the Earth's magnetotail with results from a time-dependent, global magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere. The study focuses on observations from July 7, 1993, during which the Geotail spacecraft crossed the distant tail magnetospheric boundary several times while the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was predominantly northward and was marked by slow rotations of its clock angle. Simultaneous IMP 8 observations of solar wind ions and the IMF were used as driving input for the MHD simulation, and the resulting time series were compared directly with those from the Geotail spacecraft. The very good agreement found provided the basis for an investigation of the response of the distant tail associated with the clock angle of the IMF. Results from the simulation show that the stresses imposed by the draping of magnetosheath field lines and the asymmetric removal of magnetic flux tailward of the cusps altered considerably the shape of the distant tail as the solar wind discontinuities convected downstream of Earth. As a result, the cross section of the distant tail was considerably flattened along the direction perpendicular to the IMF clock angle, the direction of the neutral sheet following that of the IMF. The simulation also revealed that the combined action of magnetic reconnection and the slow rotation of the IMF clock angle led to a braiding of the distant tail's magnetic field lines along the axis of the tail, with the plane of the braid lying in the direction of the IMF.

On May 23, 1995, the Comprehensive Plasma Instrumentation (CPI) onboard the Geotail spacecraft observed a complex and structured ion distribution function near the magnetotail midplane at x approximately -10 R(sub E). On the same day, the Wind spacecraft observed a very high density (approximately 40/cubic cm) solar wind and an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) that was predominantly northward but had several southward turnings. We have inferred the sources of the ions in this distribution function by following approximately 90,000 ion trajectories backward in time using time-dependent electric and magnetic fields obtained from a global MHD (magnetohydrodynamic) simulation. Wind data were used as input for the MHD model. We found that three sources contributed to this distribution: the ionosphere, the plasma mantle which had near-Earth and distant tail components, and the low latitude boundary layer (LLBL). Moreover, distinct structures in the low energy part of the distribution function were found to be associated with individual sources. Structures near 0 deg pitch angle were made up of either ionospheric or plasma mantle ions, while structures near 90 deg pitch angle were dominated by ions from the LLBL source. Particles that underwent nonadiabatic acceleration were numerous in the higher energy part of the ion distribution function, whereas ionospheric and LLBL ions were mostly adiabatic. A large proportion of the near-Earth mantle ions underwent adiabatic acceleration, while most of the distant mantle ions experienced nonadiabatic acceleration.

Understanding the large-scale dynamics of the magnetospheric boundary is an important step towards achieving the ISTP mission's broad objective of assessing the global transport of plasma and energy through the geospace environment. Our approach is based on three-dimensional global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the solar wind-magnetosphere- ionosphere system, and consists of using interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and plasma parameters measured by solar wind monitors upstream of the bow shock as input to the simulations for predicting the large-scale dynamics of the magnetospheric boundary. The validity of these predictions is tested by comparing local data streams with time series measured by downstream spacecraft crossing the magnetospheric boundary. In this paper, we review results from several case studies which confirm that our MHD model reproduces very well the large-scale motion of the magnetospheric boundary. The first case illustrates the complexity of the magnetic field topology that can occur at the dayside magnetospheric boundary for periods of northward IMF with strong Bx and By components. The second comparison reviewed combines dynamic and topological aspects in an investigation of the evolution of the distant tail at 200 R(sub E) from the Earth.

On February 9, 1995, the Comprehensive Plasma Instrumentation (CPI) on the Geotail spacecraft observed a complex, structured ion distribution function near the magnetotail midplane at x approximately -30 R(sub E). On this same day the Wind spacecraft observed a quiet solar wind and an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) that was northward for more than five hours, and an IMF B(sub y) component with a magnitude comparable to that of the RAF B(sub z) component. In this study, we determined the sources of the ions in this distribution function by following approximately 90,000 ion trajectories backward in time, using the time-dependent electric and magnetic fields obtained from a global MHD simulation. The Wind observations were used as input for the MHD model. The ion distribution function observed by Geotail at 1347 UT was found to consist primarily of particles from the dawn side low latitude boundary layer (LLBL) and from the dusk side LLBL; fewer than 2% of the particles originated in the ionosphere.

In this study we investigate the transport of H+ ions that made up the complex ion distribution function observed by the Geotail spacecraft at 0740 UT on November 24, 1996. This ion distribution function, observed by Geotail at approximately 20 R(sub E) downtail, was used to initialize a time-dependent large-scale kinetic (LSK) calculation of the trajectories of 75,000 ions forward in time. Time-dependent magnetic and electric fields were obtained from a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) as observed during the interval of the observation of the distribution function. Our calculations indicate that the particles observed by Geotail were scattered across the equatorial plane by the multiple interactions with the current sheet and then convected sunward. They were energized by the dawn-dusk electric field during their transport from Geotail location and ultimately were lost at the ionospheric boundary or into the magnetopause.

This study investigates the sources and transport of ions observed in the near-Earth plasma sheet during the growth and expansion phases of a magnetospheric substorm that took place on November 24, 1996. The sources and acceleration mechanisms of ions observed at Geotail were determined by calculating the trajectories of thousands of ions backward in time. We found that during the growth phase of the substorm, most of the ions reaching Geotail had origins in the low latitude boundary layer (LLBL) and were already in the magnetosphere when the growth phase began. Late in the growth phase and in the expansion phase more plasma mantle ions reached the Geotail location. Indeed, during the expansion phase more than 90% of the ions were from the mantle. The ions were accelerated enroute to the spacecraft; however, most of the energy gained was achieved by non-adiabatic acceleration during the ions' crossing of the equatorial current sheet just prior to the detection of the ions.

We present Geotail plasma and field observations from the middle magnetotail near X(sub GSE) = -46 R(sub E) for the time period 1400 to 1800 UT on December 14, 1994. During that period, the Wind satellite monitored the solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) upstream of the bow shock. The IMF was northward and the plasma parameters near average. Geotail observed slow tailward flows and a northward field. The plasma and field parameters indicate that Geotail is either in the plasma sheet or in a boundary layer. We used the Wind solar wind plasma and IMF data as input for a global simulation of that time interval. Comparison of the simulation results with the observational data show very good overall agreement of the magnitudes of the plasma and field parameters. In particular, the simulation reproduces the slow tailward flows and northward field found at Geotail. Small scale temporal, variations are less well reproduced. The simulation shows the formation of a broad boundary layer (which we call tail flank boundary layer, TFBL) that consists of closed flux which is formed by magnetic magnetic reconnection of IMF and lobe field lines. The simulation results indicate that Geotail is located very close to the TFBL and may have entered the TFBL proper. We show that the TFBL plays an important role in energy transport from the solar wind into the magnetosphere during northward IMF conditions.

This study investigates the sources of the ions up the complex and nonisotropic H(+) velocity distribution functions observed by the Geotail spacecraft on May 23, 1995, in the near-Earth magnetotail region and recently reported by Frank et al. [1996]. A distribution function observed by Geotail at -10 R(sub E) downtail is used as input for the large scale kinetic (LSK) technique to follow the trajectories of approximately 90,000 H(+) ions backward in time. Time-dependent magnetic and electric fields are taken from a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the magnetosphere and its interactions with appropriate solar wind and IMF conditions. The ion population described by the Geotail distribution function was found to consist of a mixture of particles originating from three distinct sources: the ionosphere, the low latitude boundary layer (LLBL), and the high latitude plasma mantle. Ionospheric particles had direct access along field lines to Geotail, and LLBL ions convected adiabatically to the Geotail location. Plasma mantle ions, on the other hand, exhibited two distinct types of behavior. Most near-Earth mantle ions reached Geotail on adiabatic orbits, while distant mantle ions interacted with the current sheet tailward of Geotail and had mostly nonadiabatic orbits. Ions from the ionosphere, the LLBL, and the near-Earth mantle were directly responsible for the well-separated, low energy structures easily discernible in the observed and modeled distribution functions. Distant mantle ions formed the higher energy portion of the Geotail distribution. Thus, we have been successful in extracting useful information about particle sources, their relative contribution to the measured distribution and the acceleration processes that affected particle transport during this time.

The magnetotail ion flux measurements from the Geotail spacecraft are analyzed both with and without the application of selection criteria that identify the plasma regime in which an observation is obtained. The different results are compared with each other. The initial results on the changes of energetic ion flux and composition correlated to average substorm activity in different magnetotail plasma regimes are discussed. The energetic ions are measured using the energetic particles and ion composition (EPIC) experiment and the suprathermal ion composition spectrometer (STICS). The plasma, wave and field instruments of the Geotail satellite were used to identify the principle magnetotail plasma regimes of plasma sheet, lobe, and magnetospheric boundary layer, as well as the magnetosheath and solar wind. Energetic O and H ions were observed in all the plasma regimes.

Ten transient magnetic structures in Earth's magnetotail, as observed in GEOTAIL measurements, selected for early 1993 (at (-) X(sub GSM) = 90 - 130 Earth radii), are shown to have helical magnetic field configurations similar to those of interplanetary magnetic clouds at 1 AU but smaller in size by a factor of approximately = 700. Such structures are shown to be well approximated by a comprehensive magnetic force-free flux-rope model. For this limited set of 10 events the rope axes are seen to be typically aligned with the Y(sub GSM) axis and the average diameter of these structures is approximately = 15 Earth radii.

The three-dimensional velocity distributions for both electrons and positive ions as determined with plasma instrumentation on board the Geotail spacecraft are used to compute number densities, ion bulk velocities, and electron and ion temperatures. We present a statistical survey of these plasma parameters for the magnetotail at distances from Earth in the range of 10 to 210 R(sub E) for the period 19 October 1992 through 10 July 1993. The ion temperature is used to discriminate 'hot' plasmas from 'cold' plasmas. The hot ion plasmas are frequently found to stream either towards or away from Earth and we identify these with the plasma sheet, plasma sheet boundary layer, and regions of acceleration. The cold ion plasmas are typically streaming away from Earth. These cold plasmas appear to be associated with the plasma mantle, the magnetosheath, and boundary layers interior to the magnetosheath, although the contribution from the ionosphere has not yet been evaluated.

The GEOTAIL satellite experienced several encounters with the magnetopause during the interval 0300 to 0600 hours on 27 October 1992 at a gsm location of (X,Y,Z) approximately (-81, -8, 7.5) R(sub e). Energetic ions of both solar wind and ionospheric origin (H(+), He(++), and O(+)) were observed streaming in the anti-solar direction on both the lobe and magnetosheath side of the plasma mantle-magnetosheath boundary, with maximum fluxes occuring at the boundary. Even though the mantle plasma had penetrated well into the lobe through convective drift, the energetic ions were observed only at the magnetopause and provided a clear signature of the boundary region. Using a measured convective drift velocity and observed ergetic particle anisotropies, we estimated that the maximum distance from GEOTAIL that the energetic ions could have been accelerated or made contact with the boundary field lines was less than 8 - 39 R(sub e), implying that both solar wind and ionospheric ions are accelerated and contact the magnetopause many tens of earth radii behind the earth. We further found that the unusual magnetopause positions encountered at this time could be explained in part by solar wind aberration effects. However additional processes (e. g., magnetospheric breathing modes, convoluted tail topologies) are required to fully explain these observations.

The three-dimensional electron and positive ion velocity distributions were examined for four events for which the magnetic signature of plasmoids occurred at the Geotail spacecraft position in Earth's distant magnetotail. The proton bulk parameters and the electron velocity distributions for one of the events are presented in order to characterize the qualitative character of the set of events. The north-to-south turnings of the magnetic field that were taken for evidence of the passage of a plasmoid were often accompanied by a significant strong core of B(sub y) that was centered on the transition of B(sub z) from north to south. The magnetic signatures thus appeared to be more indicative of flux ropes than of classical plasmoids with weak core fields. The proton and electron bulk velocities in these magnetic structures are not equal, a situation that provides an earthward current. The plasma beta was typically one or greater. Counterstreaming of low-energy electrons was often found on the magnetic field lines around the central magnetic core and suggested the existence of a closed field line topology in these regions. These events appeared to be the tailward flowing debris from acceleration processes occuring in the vicinity of a separator positioned nearer to Earth.

Near the tail boundary beyond about 100 R(sub e), GEOTAIL often encounters a plasma mantle-like boundary layer in which the plasma flowing tailward transitions smoothly from magnetosheath values of speed and density to much smaller values, more characteristic of the tail lobe. This boundary layer had earlier been recognized on the basis of International Sun Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE 3) measurements. GEOTAIL confirms the existence of this layer and extends the documentation on its behavior. Boundary oscillations sweep the boundary layer over the spacecraft enabling GEOTAIL to 'sound' the layer's profile of plasma parameters. The density-versus-speed correlogram of the mantle-like part -- a useful diagnostic for comparisons -- is reasonably well simulated by a 1-D, MHD slow-mode expansion fan model of the plasma mantle. Flow directions are consistent with an open plasma mantle on the northern, duskside flank of the tail, as expected for the standard magnetic merging model of mantle formation.

Near the tail boundary beyond about 100 Re, GEOTAIL often measures irregular, long-period oscillations in plasma velocity and density. Flow speed and density oscillate between magnetosheath values and values an order of magnitude less. The oscillations can persist for days. A typical oscillation lasts 100 minutes, but the range is large. The oscillations are highly asymmetric in that the increasing phase of the oscillation is an order of magnitude faster than the decreasing phase. This asymmetry shows that they are a distinct class of oscillations, not previously explicitly reported, and that they are not mere consequences of tail flapping in a variable solar wind. The changes in flow direction through an oscillation imply that the oscillation results from a motion of the boundary toward and away from the spacecraft with an amplitude between 5 and 10 R(sub e). A consideration of options suggests that the most plausible cause of these oscillations is the 'breathing' of the magnetotail that attends the substorm cycle.

A histogramic survey is reported for the electron and ion bulk flows in Earth's magnetotail at geocentric radial distances in the range of about 10 to 210 R(sub E) from the Comprehensive Plasma Instrumentation on board the Geotail spacecraft. Specifically the X-components of the bulk flows are examined for high ion temperatures, greater than 5 x 10(exp 6) K, and for the lower ion temperatures. This separation of plasmas provides a reasonably effective criterion for identifying the hot plasmas associated with the plasma sheet and its boundary layers and the colder plasmas found in the magnetotail lobes and magnetopause boundary layer. The survey shows that the distributions of earthward bulk flows of ions and electrons are similar for each of the two temperature regimes, respectively. However, average speeds for the ions and electrons as a function of radial distance are dissimilar in that the electron bulk speeds are greater than those for the ions. All average electron and ion bulk flows are directed tailward at geocentric radial distances greater than 30 R(sub E). The most striking dissimilarity in the occurrence frequencies of the bulk flows is the large number with high tailward speeds for the electrons, greater than 500 km/s, relative to those for the ions. It is found that the disparity in bulk flows is due to the presence of two ion velocity distributions, one with high temperatures and a bulk speed similar to that of the electrons and the second, colder distribution with higher number density and considerably lesser bulk flow speed.

Observations of the three-dimensional velocity distributions of positive ions and electrons have been recently gained for the first time in Earth's distant magnetotail with the Galileo and Geotail spacecraft. For this brief discussion of these exciting results the focus is on the overall character of the ion velocity distributions during substorm activity. The ion velocity distributions within and near the magnetotail current sheet are not accurately described as convecting, isotropic Maxwellians. The observed velocity distributions are characterized by at least two robust types. The first type is similar to the 'lima bean'-shaped velocity distributions that are expected from the nonadiabatic acceleration of ions which execute Speiser-type trajectories in the current sheet. The second distribution is associated with the presence of cold ion beams that presumably also arise from the acceleration of plasma mantle ions in the electric and weak magnetic fields in the current sheet. The ion velocity distributions in a magnetic field structure that is similar to that for plasmoids are also examined. Again the velocity distributions are not Maxwellian but are indicative of nonadiabatic acceleration. An example of the pressure tensor within the plasmoid-like event is also presented because it is anticipated that the off-diagonal elements are important in a description of magnetotail dynamics. Thus our concept of magnetotail dynamics must advance from the present assumption of co-moving electron and ion Maxwellian distributions into reformulations in terms of global kinematical models and nonadiabatic particle motion.

A series of simultaneous determinations is presented of the 3D bulk flows of ion and electron plasmas in the magnetotail at radial distances near the lunar orbit. In the plasma mantle the ion and electron bulk velocities are identical within measurement accuracy. In the plasma sheet the electron bulk flows, densities, and temperatures are consistent with the results of the previous ISEE-3 survey at these radial distances as given by Zwickl et al. (1984). The present observations show that the electron bulk flows are often dominantly field-aligned and attributable to field-aligned currents, not convective motions within the magnetotail. The E x B convection of the plasmas as determined directly from the ion observation is often significantly slower and/or in a different direction than the bulk motions of either the ion or the electron plasmas. Thus, the ISEE-3 observations of electron bulk flows cannot be reliably used as measures of the E x B convection of plasmas or ion bulk motions at these distances in the plasma sheet.

An electron beam was injected into earth's ionosphere on August 1, 1985, during the flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger as part of the objectives of the Spacelab 2 mission. In the wake of the Space Shuttle a magnetically aligned sheet of electrons returning from the direction of propagation of the beam was detected with the free-flying Plasma Diagnostics Package. The thickness of this sheet of returning electrons was about 20 m. Large intensifications of broadband electrostatic noise were also observed within this sheet of electrons. A numerical simulation of the interaction of the electron beam with the ambient ionospheric plasmas is employed to show that the electron beam excites electron plasma oscillations and that it is possible for the ion acoustic instability to provide a returning flux of hot electrons by means of quasi-linear diffusion.