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Abstract Plasma turbulence plays a key role in space and astrophysical plasma systems, enabling the energy of magnetic fields and plasma flows to be transported to particle kinetic scales at which the turbulence dissipates and heats the plasma. Identifying the physical mechanisms responsible for the dissipation of the turbulent energy is a critical step in developing the predictive capability for the turbulent heating needed by global models. In this work, spacecraft measurements of the electromagnetic fields and ion velocity distributions by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to generate velocity-space signatures that identify ion cyclotron damping in Earth’s turbulent magnetosheath, in agreement with analytical modeling. Furthermore, the rate of ion energization is directly quantified and combined with a previous analysis of the electron energization to identify the dominant channels of turbulent dissipation and determine the partitioning of energy among species in this interval.

Abstract A sheath impedance model has recently been developed to describe how the variable coupling impedance between the Van Allen Probes instrumentation and the ambient plasma affects both the amplitude and phase of electric field wave measurements. Here, the impact of this sheath correction on measured chorus wave properties, including electric field wave power and the Poynting vector, is directly quantified. It is found that the sheath‐corrected electric field wave power is typically between two and nine times larger than the uncorrected measurement, depending on wave frequency. The sheath correction typically increases the Poynting flux by a factor of ∼2, and causes the polar angle of the Poynting vector to switch hemisphere from parallel to anti‐parallel propagation in ∼2% of cases. The uncorrected data exhibit significant deviations from the theoretically predicted relationship between the wave vector and the Poynting vector whereas this relationship is well‐reproduced with the sheath‐corrected observations.

Superbolts are powerful, rare lightning events. Here, the authors show simultaneous satellite and ground measurements of a superbolt, and demonstrate different properties of superbolts and lightnings.

It was predicted that Alfvén waves can account for the acceleration of precipitating auroral electrons. Here, the authors show laboratory measurements of the resonant transfer of energy from Alfvén waves to electrons under conditions relevant to the auroral zone as a direct test.

Abstract We investigate the longitudinal structure of the oxygen torus in the inner magnetosphere for a specific event found on 12 September 2017, using simultaneous observations from the Van Allen Probe B and Arase satellites. It is found that Probe B observed a clear enhancement in the average plasma mass (M) up to 3–4 amu at L = 3.3–3.6 and magnetic local time (MLT) = 9.0 h. In the afternoon sector at MLT ~ 16.0 h, both Probe B and Arase found no clear enhancements in M. This result suggests that the oxygen torus does not extend over all MLT but is skewed toward the dawn. Since a similar result has been reported for another event of the oxygen torus in a previous study, a crescent-shaped torus or a pinched torus centered around dawn may be a general feature of the O+ density enhancement in the inner magnetosphere. We newly find that an electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave in the H+ band appeared coincidently with the oxygen torus. From the lower cutoff frequency of the EMIC wave, the ion composition of the oxygen torus is estimated to be 80.6% H+, 3.4% He+, and 16.0% O+. According to the linearized dispersion relation for EMIC waves, both He+ and O+ ions inhibit EMIC wave growth and the stabilizing effect is stronger for He+ than O+. Therefore, when the H+ fraction or M is constant, the denser O+ ions are naturally accompanied by the more tenuous He+ ions, resulting in a weaker stabilizing effect (i.e., larger growth rate). From the Probe B observations, we find that the growth rate becomes larger in the oxygen torus than in the adjacent regions in the plasma trough and the plasmasphere.

We study the propagation and attenuation of lightning-generated whistler (LGW) waves in near-Earth space (L ≤ 3) through the statistical study of three specific quantities extracted from data recorded by NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission, from 2012 to 2019: the LGW electric and magnetic power attenuation with respect to distance from a given lightning stroke, the LGW wave normal angle in space, and the frequency-integrated LGW refractive index. We find that LGW electric field wave power decays with distance mostly quadratically in space, with a power varying between -1 and -2, while the magnetic field wave power decays mostly linearly in space, with a power varying between 0 and -1. At night only, the electric wave power decays as a quadratic law and the magnetic power as a linear law, which is consistent with electric and magnetic ground measurements. Complexity of the dependence of the various quantities is maximal at the lowest L-shells (L < 1.5) and around noon, for which LGW are the rarest in Van Allen Probes measurements. In-space near-equatorial LGW wave normal angle statistics are shown for the first time with respect to magnetic local time (MLT), L-shell (L), geographic longitude, and season. A distribution of predominantly electrostatic waves is peaked at large wave normal angle. Conversely, the distribution of electromagnetic waves with large magnetic component and small electric component is peaked at small wave normal angle. Outside these limits, we show that, as the LGW electric power increases, the LGW wave normal angle increases. But, as the LGW magnetic power increases, the LGW wave normal angle distribution becomes peaked at small wave normal angle with a secondary peak at large wave normal angle. The LGW mean wave-normal angle computed over the whole data set is 41.6° with a ∼24° standard deviation. There is a strong MLT-dependence, with the wave normal angle smaller for daytime (34.4° on average at day and 46.7° at night). There is an absence of strong seasonal and continental dependences of the wave-normal angle. The statistics of the LGW refractive index show a mean LGW refractive index is 32 with a standard deviation of ∼26. There is a strong MLT-dependence, with larger refractive index for daytime 36) than for nighttime (28). Smaller refractive index is found during Northern hemisphere summer for L-shells above 1.8, which is inconsistent with Chapman ionization theory and consistent with the so-called winter/seasonal anomaly. Local minima of the mean refractive index are observed over the three continents. Cross-correlation of these wave parameters in fixed (MLT, L) bins shows that the wave normal angle and refractive index are anti-correlated; large (small) wave normal angles correspond with small (large) refractive indexes. High power attenuation during LGW propagation from the lightning source to the spacecraft is correlated with large refractive index and anti-correlated with small wave normal angle. Correlation and anti-correlation show a smooth and continuous path from one regime (i.e. large wave normal angle, small refractive index, low attenuation) to its opposite (i.e. small wave normal angle, large refractive index, large attenuation), supporting consistency of the results.

Abstract The relationship between dispersive Alfvén waves (DAWs), magnetospheric activity, and O+ ion outflow/energy density is examined using measurements from the Van Allen Probes. We show that correlated DAW activity and O+ outflow/energization is a characteristic feature of the inner magnetosphere during active conditions and during storms persists for several hours over large L‐shell and azimuthal ranges of the plasma sheet. Though enhanced during substorm and storm active periods, these correlated features are most intense during geomagnetic storms. Comparisons show a linear relationship between DAW electric (and magnetic) field energy density and outflowing O+ energy. Statistical measurements from a large number of storms also reveal a linear relationship between DAW energy density and gross enhancements in energetic O+ energy densities. These observations support the notion that DAWs play an important role in the energization of O+ ions into and within the inner magnetosphere.

Abstract Electromagnetic waves generated by lightning propagate into the plasmasphere as dispersed whistlers. They can therefore influence the overall wave intensity in space, which, in turn, is important for dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts. We analyze spacecraft measurements in low‐Earth orbit as well as in high‐altitude equatorial region, together with a ground‐based estimate of lightning activity. We accumulate wave intensities when the spacecraft are magnetically connected to thunderstorms and compare them with measurements obtained when thunderstorms are absent. We show that strong lightning activity substantially affects the wave intensity in a wide range of L‐shells and altitudes. The effect is observed mainly between 500 Hz and 4 kHz, but its frequency range strongly varies with L‐shell, extending up to 12 kHz for L lower than 3. The effect is stronger in the afternoon, evening, and night sectors, consistent with more lightning and easier wave propagation through the ionosphere.

Plasmaspheric hiss was observed by Van Allen Probe B in association with energetic electron injections in the outer plasmasphere. The energy of injected electrons coincides with the minimum resonant energy calculated for the observed hiss wave frequency. Interestingly, the variations in hiss wave intensity, electron flux and ultra low frequency (ULF) wave intensity exhibit remarkable correlations, while plasma density is not correlated with any of these parameters. Our study provides direct evidence for the first time that the injected anisotropic electron population, which is modulated by ULF waves, modulates the hiss intensity in the outer plasmasphere. This also implies that the plasmaspheric hiss observed by Van Allen Probe B in the outer plasmasphere (L > ∼ 5.5) is locally amplified. Meanwhile, Van Allen Probe A observed hiss emission at lower L shells (L shells.

We present Van Allen Probe B observations of azimuthally limited, antisymmetric, poloidal Pc 4 electric and magnetic field pulsations in the pre-midnight sector of the magnetosphere from 05:40 to 06:00 UT on 1 May 2013. Oscillation periods were similar for the magnetic and electric fields and proton fluxes. The flux of energetic protons exhibited an energy-dependent response to the pulsations. Energetic proton variations were anticorrelated at medium and low energies. Although we attribute the pulsations to a drift-bounce resonance, we demonstrate that the energy-dependent response of the ion fluxes results from pulsation-associated velocities sweeping energy-dependent radial ion flux gradients back and forth past the spacecraft.

In this study, we investigate statistical, systematic variations of the high-latitude convection cell structure during northward IMF. Using 1-min-averages of Cluster/EDI electron drift observations above the Northern and Southern polar cap areas for six and a half years (February 2001 till July 2007), and mapping the spatially distributed measurements to a common reference plane at ionospheric level in a magnetic latitude/MLT grid, we obtained regular drift patterns according to the various IMF conditions. We focus on the particular conditions during northward IMF, where lobe cells at magnetic latitudes >80° with opposite (sunward) convection over the central polar cap are a permanent feature in addition to the main convection cells at lower latitudes. They are due to reconnection processes at the magnetopause boundary poleward of the cusp regions. Mapped EDI data have a particular good coverage within the central part of the polar cap, so that these patterns and their dependence on various solar wind conditions are well verified in a statistical sense. On average, 4-cell convection pattern are shown as regular structures during periods of nearly northward IMF with the tendency of a small shift toward negative clock angles. The positions of these high-latitude convection foci are within 79° to 85° magnetic latitude and 09:00–15:00 MLT. The MLT positions are approximately symmetric ±2 h about 11:30 MLT, i.e. slightly offset from midday toward prenoon hours, while the maximum (minimum) potential of the high-latitude cells is at higher magnetic latitudes near their maximum potential difference at ≈−10° to −15° clock angle for the North (South) Hemisphere. With increasing clock angle distances from ≈IMFBz+, a gradual transition occurs from the 4-cell pattern via a 3-cell to the common 2-cell convection pattern, in the course of which one of the medium-scale high-latitude dayside cells diminishes and disappears while the other intensifies and merges with the opposite main cell of the same polarity to form the large "round-shaped" convection cell when approaching a well-known IMFBy-dominated configuration. Opposite scenarios with interchanged roles of the respective cells occur for the opposite turning of the clock angle and at the Southern Hemisphere. The high-latitude dayside cells become more pronounced with increasing magnitude of the IMF vector.

Based on drift velocity measurements of the EDI instruments on Cluster during the years 2001–2006, we have constructed a database of high-latitude ionospheric convection velocities and associated solar wind and magnetospheric activity parameters. In an earlier paper (Haaland et al., 2007), we have described the method, consisting of an improved technique for calculating the propagation delay between the chosen solar wind monitor (ACE) and Earth's magnetosphere, filtering the data for periods of sufficiently stable IMF orientations, and mapping the EDI measurements from their high-altitude positions to ionospheric altitudes. The present paper extends this study, by looking at the spatial pattern of the variances of the convection velocities as a function of IMF orientation, and by performing sortings of the data according to the IMF magnitude in the GSM y-z plane, |ByzIMF|, the estimated reconnection electric field, Er,sw, the solar wind dynamic pressure, Pdyn, the season, and indices characterizing the ring current (Dst) and tail activity (ASYM-H). The variability of the high-latitude convection shows characteristic spatial patterns, which are mirror symmetric between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres with respect to the IMF By component. The latitude range of the highest variability zone varies with IMF Bz similar to the auroral oval extent. The magnitude of convection standard deviations is of the same order as, or even larger than, the convection magnitude itself. Positive correlations of polar cap activity are found with |ByzIMF| and with Er,sw, in particular. The strict linear increase for small magnitudes of Er,sw starts to deviate toward a flattened increase above about 2 mV/m. There is also a weak positive correlation with Pdyn. At very small values of Pdyn, a secondary maximum appears, which is even more pronounced for the correlation with solar wind proton density. Evidence for enhanced nightside convection during high nightside activity is presented.

We have used vector measurements of the electron drift velocity made by the Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) on Cluster between February 2001 and March 2006 to derive statistical maps of the high-latitude plasma convection. The EDI measurements, obtained at geocentric distances between ~4 and ~20 RE over both hemispheres, are mapped into the polar ionosphere, and sorted according to the clock-angle of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), measured at ACE and propagated to Earth, using best estimates of the orientation of the IMF variations. Only intervals of stable IMF are used, based on the magnitude of a "bias-vector" constructed from 30-min averages. The resulting data set consists of a total of 5862 h of EDI data. Contour maps of the electric potential in the polar ionosphere are subsequently derived from the mapped and averaged ionospheric drift vectors. Comparison with published statistical results based on Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radar and low-altitude satellite measurements shows excellent agreement between the average convection patterns, and in particular the lack of mirror-symmetry between the effects of positive and negative IMF By, the appearance of a duskward flow component for strongly southward IMF, and the general weakening of the average flows and potentials for northerly IMF directions. This agreement lends credence to the validity of the assumption underlying the mapping of the EDI data, namely that magnetic field lines are equipotentials. For strongly northward IMF the mapped EDI data show the clear emergence of two counter-rotating lobe cells with a channel of sunward flow between them. The total potential drops across the polar caps obtained from the mapped EDI data are intermediate between the radar and the low-altitude satellite results.

We present the statistics of Langmuir wave amplitudes in the Earth's foreshock using Cluster Wideband Data (WBD) Plasma Wave Receiver electric field waveforms from spacecraft 2, 3 and 4 on 26 March 2002. The largest amplitude Langmuir waves were observed by Cluster near the boundary between the foreshock and solar wind, in agreement with earlier studies. The characteristics of the waves were similar for all three spacecraft, suggesting that variations in foreshock structure must occur on scales greater than the 50-100km spacecraft separations. The electric field amplitude probability distributions constructed using waveforms from the Cluster WBD Plasma Wave Receiver generally followed the log-normal statistics predicted by stochastic growth theory for the event studied. Comparison with WBD receiver data from 17 February 2002, when spacecraft 4 was set in a special manual gain mode, suggests non-optimal auto-ranging of the instrument may have had some influence on the statistics.

In this paper we report measurements of the convection obtained with the Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) on Cluster. We use 20 passes that cross the between its dayside and nightside boundaries (or vice versa) at geocentric distances ranging from about 5 to about 13RE, and at interspacecraft separations (transverse to the ambient magnetic field) between a few km and almost 10000km. We first illustrate the nature of the data by presenting four passes in detail. They demonstrate that the sense of convection (anti-sunward vs. sunward) essentially agrees with the expectations based on magnetic reconnection occurring on the dayside or poleward of the cusp. The most striking feature in the EDI data is the occurrence of large-amplitude fluctuations that are superimposed on the average velocities. One type of fluctuation appears to grow when approaching the dayside boundary. The examples also show that there is a variable degree of inter-spacecraft correlation, ranging from excellent to poor. We then present statistical results on all 20 passes. Plotting 10-min averages of the convection velocities vs. IMF Bz one recovers the expected dependence, albeit with large scatter. Looking at the variances computed over the same 10-min intervals, one confirms that there is indeed one type of contribution that grows towards the dayside boundary, but that variances can be high anywhere. Finally, computing the inter-spacecraft correlations as a function of their separation distance transverse to the magnetic field shows that the average correlation drops with increasing distance, but that even at distances as large as 5000km the correlation can be very good. To put those scales into context, the separation distances have also been scaled to ionospheric altitudes where they range between a few hundred meters and 600km.

Solitary waves with large electric fields (up to 100's of mV/m) have been observed throughout the magnetosphere and in the bow shock. We discuss observations by Polar at high altitudes ( ~ 4-8 RE ), during crossings of the plasma sheet boundary and cusp, and new measurements by Polar at the equatorial magnetopause and by Cluster near the bow shock, in the cusp and at the plasma sheet boundary. We describe the results of a statistical study of electron solitary waves observed by Polar at high altitudes. The mean solitary wave duration was ~ 2 ms. The waves have velocities from ~ 1000 km/s to > 2500 km/s. Observed scale sizes (parallel to the magnetic field) are on the order of 1-10lD, with eF/kTe from ~ 0.01 to O(1). The average speed of solitary waves at the plasma sheet boundary is faster than the average speed observed in the cusp and at cusp injections. The amplitude increases with both velocity and scale size. These observations are all consistent with the identification of the solitary waves as electron hole modes. We also report the discovery of solitary waves at the magnetopause, observed in Polar data obtained at the subsolar equatorial magnetopause. Both positive and negative potential structures have been observed with amplitudes up to ~ 25 mV/m. The velocities range from 150 km/s to >2500 km/s, with scale sizes the order of a kilometer (comparable to the Debye length). Initial observations of solitary waves by the four Cluster satellites are utilized to discuss the scale sizes and time variability of the regions where the solitary waves occur. Preliminary results from the four Cluster satellites have given a glimpse of the spatial and temporal variability of the occurrence of solitary waves and their association with other wave modes. In all the events studied, significant differences were observed in the waveforms observed simultaneously at the four locations separated by ~ 1000 km. When solitary waves were seen at one satellite, they were usually also seen at the other satellites within an interval of a few seconds. In association with an energetic electron injection and a highly compressed magnetosphere, Cluster has observed the largest amplitude solitary waves (>750 mV/m) ever reported in the outer magnetosphere.

EDI measures the drift velocity of artificially injected electron beams. From this drift velocity, the perpendicular electric field and the local magnetic field gradients can be deduced when employing different electron energies. The technique requires the injection of two electron beams at right angles to the magnetic field and the search for those directions within the plane that return the beams to their associated detectors after one or more gyrations. The drift velocity is then derived from the directions of the two beams and/or from the difference in their times-of-flight, measured via amplitude-modulation and coding of the emitted electron beams and correlation with the signal from the returning electrons. After careful adjustment of the control parameters, the beam recognition algorithms, and the onboard magnetometer calibrations during the commissioning phase, EDI is providing excellent data over a wide range of conditions. In this paper, we present first results in a variety of regions ranging from the polar cap, across the magnetopause, and well into the magnetosheath.Key words. Electron drift velocity (electric fields; plasma convection; instruments and techniques)

In this report we present the first results from the Cluster wideband plasma wave investigation. The four Cluster spacecraft were successfully placed in closely spaced, high-inclination eccentric orbits around the Earth during two separate launches in July – August 2000. Each spacecraft includes a wideband plasma wave instrument designed to provide high-resolution electric and magnetic field wave-forms via both stored data and direct downlinks to the NASA Deep Space Network. Results are presented for three commonly occurring magnetospheric plasma wave phenomena: (1) whistlers, (2) chorus, and (3) auroral kilometric radiation. Lightning-generated whistlers are frequently observed when the spacecraft is inside the plasmasphere. Usually the same whistler can be detected by all spacecraft, indicating that the whistler wave packet extends over a spatial dimension at least as large as the separation distances transverse to the magnetic field, which during these observations were a few hundred km. This is what would be expected for nonducted whistler propagation. No case has been found in which a strong whistler was detected at one spacecraft, with no signal at the other spacecraft, which would indicate ducted propagation. Whistler-mode chorus emissions are also observed in the inner region of the magnetosphere. In contrast to lightning-generated whistlers, the individual chorus elements seldom show a one-to-one correspondence between the spacecraft, indicating that a typical chorus wave packet has dimensions transverse to the magnetic field of only a few hundred km or less. In one case where a good one-to-one correspondence existed, significant frequency variations were observed between the spacecraft, indicating that the frequency of the wave packet may be evolving as the wave propagates. Auroral kilometric radiation, which is an intense radio emission generated along the auroral field lines, is frequently observed over the polar regions. The frequency-time structure of this radiation usually shows a very good one-to-one correspondence between the various spacecraft. By using the microsecond timing available at the NASA Deep Space Net-work, very-long-baseline radio astronomy techniques have been used to determine the source of the auroral kilometric radiation. One event analyzed using this technique shows a very good correspondence between the inferred source location, which is assumed to be at the electron cyclotron frequency, and a bright spot in the aurora along the magnetic field line through the source.Key words. Ionosphere (wave-particle interactions; wave propagation) – Magnetospheric physics (plasma waves and instabilities; instruments and techniques)

We examine two crossings of three Cluster satellites from the polar cap into the high-latitude plasma sheet at midnight local time, using data from the Electron Drift Instrument (EDI). EDI measures the full electron drift velocity in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field for any field and drift directions. The context of the measured convection velocities is established by their relation to the intense enhancements in 1 keV electrons, also measured by EDI, as the satellites move from the polar cap into the plasma sheet boundary. In both cases presented here, the cross B convection in the polar cap is anti-sunward (toward the nightside plasma sheet) with a small duskward component. As the satellites enter the plasma sheet boundary region, the dawn-dusk convective flow component reverses its sign, and the flow in the meridianal plane (toward the center of the plasma sheet) drops substantially. The relatively stable convection in the polar cap becomes highly variable as the PSBL is encountered. The timing and sequence of the boundary crossings by the Cluster satellites are consistent with a relatively static structure on a time scale of the few minutes in satellite separations. In one of the two events, the plasma sheet boundary has a spatially separate structure that is crossed by the satellites before entering the plasma sheet.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (electric fields; magnetopause, cusp and boundary layers; instruments and techniques)

We present the first electron time-of-flight measurements obtained with the Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) on Equator-S. These measurements are made possible by amplitude-modulation and coding of the emitted electron beams and correlation with the signal from the returning electrons. The purpose of the time-of-flight measurements is twofold. First, they provide the drift velocity, and thus the electric field, when the distance the electrons drift in a gyro period becomes sufficiently large. Second, they provide the gyro time of the electrons emitted by the instrument, and thus the magnitude of the ambient magnetic field, allowing in-flight calibration of the flux-gate magnetometer with high precision. Results of both applications are discussed.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (electric fields; plasma convection; instruments and techniques)

We present the first triangulation measurements of electric fields with the electron drift instrument (EDI) on Equator-S. We show results from five high-data-rate passes of the satellite through the near-midnight equatorial region, at geocentric distances of approximately 5–6 RE, during geomagnetically quiet conditions. In a co-rotating frame of reference, the measured electric fields have magnitudes of a few tenths of mV/m, with the E × B drift generally directed sunward but with large variations. Temporal variations of the electric field on time scales of several seconds to minutes are large compared to the average magnitude. Comparisons of the "DC" baseline of the EDI-measured electric fields with the mapped Weimer ionospheric model and the Rowland and Wygant CRRES measurements yield reasonable agreement.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (electric fields; plasma convection; instruments and techniques)