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Ion-acoustic waves are often observed in the solar wind along the Solar Orbiter’s orbit. These electrostatic waves are generated via ion-ion or current-driven instabilities below the local proton plasma frequency. Due to the Doppler shift, they are typically observed in the frequency range between the local electron and proton plasma frequency in the spacecraft frame. Ion-acoustic waves often accompany large-scale solar wind structures and play a role in the energy dissipation in the propagating solar wind. Time Domain Sampler (TDS) receiver, a part of the Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument, is sampling wave emissions at frequencies below 200 kHz almost continuously from the beginning of the mission. Almost three years of observations allow us to perform a detailed study of ion-acoustic waves in the solar wind under variable plasma conditions. The emission tends to be observed when proton density and temperature are highly perturbed. A detailed analysis of the proton velocity distribution and wave generation using solar wind data from a Proton and Alpha particle Sensor (PAS) of the Solar Wind Analyzer (SWA) is shown.

The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission is the first large-class (L1) mission of ESA Cosmic Vision. JUICE will be launched in April 2023 with an arrival at Jupiter in 2031 and at least four years making detailed observations of Jupiter’s magnetosphere and of three of its largest moons (Ganymede, Callisto and Europa). The Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) consortium will carry the most advanced set of electric and magnetic fields sensors ever flown in Jupiter’s magnetosphere, which will allow to characterize the radio emission and plasma wave environment of Jupiter and its icy moons. Here we present the scientific objectives and the technical features of the Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM) of RPWI. SCM will provide for the first time three-dimensional measurements of magnetic field fluctuations in the frequency range 0.1 Hz – 20 kHz within Jupiter’s magnetosphere. High sensitivity (~10 fT / √Hz at 1 kHz) will be assured by combining an optimized (20 cm long) magnetic transducer with a low-noise (4 nV / √Hz) ASIC pre-amplifier. Perturbations by the spacecraft are strongly reduced by accommodating SCM at about 10 m away from the spacecraft on the JUICE magnetometer boom. The combination of high sensitivity and high cleanliness of SCM measurements will allow unpreceded studies of electromagnetic fluctuations down to plasma kinetic scales, in particular in key regions such as the magnetopause, the auroral region and the magnetotail current sheet of Ganymede’s own magnetosphere which JUICE will orbit for many months. This will lead to important advances in understanding how fundamental plasma processes such as magnetic reconnection, turbulence and particle energization occur in Jupiter’s plasma environment.

On November 27, 2021, Solar Orbiter completed its only flyby of Earth on its way to the following Sun’s encounter in March 2022. Although this fast flyby was performed primarily to decrease the spacecraft’s velocity and change orbit to get closer to the Sun, the Radio and Plasma Wave (RPW) instrument had the opportunity to perform high cadence measurements in the Earth’s magnetosphere. We review the main observation of the Time Domain Sampler (TDS) receiver, a part of the RPW instrument, made during this flyby at frequencies below 200 kHz. The TDS receiver operated in a high cadence mode providing us with the regular waveform snapshot with 62 ms length every ten seconds for two electric components. Besides the regular captures, we have got more than five hundred onboard classified snapshots and the statistical products with a sixteen-second cadence. Before entering the terrestrial magnetosphere around 02:30UT, the spacecraft wandered through the foreshock region, registering intense bursts of Langmuir waves. After the bowshock crossing, Solar Orbiter was for more than two hours in the morning sector of the magnetosphere, recording various plasma wave modes. The closest approach was reached at 04:30UT above North Africa at an altitude of 460 km. Then the spacecraft continued into the Earth’s tail and entered the magnetosheath around 13:00UT. After 15:00UT, the Solar Orbiter crossed the bowshock, and bursts of Langmuir waves were detected again pointing out to the deep downstream foreshock region. Further from the Earth, intense Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR) at frequencies above 100 kHz was also detected.

We investigate the polarization of Langmuir waves observed by the Time Domain Sampler (TDS) module of the Radio and Plasma Waves instrument on Solar Orbiter during several extensive Type III burst events. During its two-year-long cruise phase, Solar orbiter often crossed the source region of the Type III radio emission and observed the Langmuir waves generated by solar energetic electrons. The waves are known to exhibit complex modulation and often non-trivial elliptical polarization which sometimes rapidly changes on the timescales of tens of milliseconds. We show that the observed waveforms are typically composed of multiple sub-packets with a relatively short coherence length. We investigate the correlation between the polarization of the waves, simultaneously observed energetic electrons beams and other plasma properties.

Context. Solar wind electrons play an important role in the energy balance of the solar wind acceleration by carrying energy into interplanetary space in the form of electron heat flux. The heat flux is stored in the complex electron velocity distribution functions (VDFs) shaped by expansion, Coulomb collisions, and field-particle interactions. Aims. We investigate how the suprathermal electron deficit in the anti-strahl direction, which was recently discovered in the near-Sun solar wind, drives a kinetic instability and creates whistler waves with wave vectors that are quasi-parallel to the direction of the background magnetic field. Methods. We combined high-cadence measurements of electron pitch-angle distribution functions and electromagnetic waves provided by Solar Orbiter during its first orbit. Our case study is based on a burst-mode data interval from the Electrostatic Analyser System (SWA-EAS) at a distance of 112 RS (0.52 au) from the Sun, during which several whistler wave packets were detected by Solar Orbiter’s Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument. Results. The sunward deficit creates kinetic conditions under which the quasi-parallel whistler wave becomes unstable. We directly test our predictions for the existence of these waves through solar wind observations. We find whistler waves that are quasi-parallel and almost circularly polarised, propagating away from the Sun, coinciding with a pronounced sunward deficit in the electron VDF. The cyclotron-resonance condition is fulfilled for electrons moving in the direction opposite to the direction of wave propagation, with energies corresponding to those associated with the sunward deficit. Conclusions. We conclude that the sunward deficit acts as a source of quasi-parallel whistler waves in the solar wind. The quasilinear diffusion of the resonant electrons tends to fill the deficit, leading to a reduction in the total electron heat flux.

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We present measurements from the Radio and Plasma Wave (RPW) instrument suite onboard the Solar Orbiter mission during the first Venus encounter. RPW consists of several units and is capable of measuring both the electric and magnetic field fluctuations with three electric antennas and a search-coil magnetometer: The Low Frequency Receiver (LFR) cover the range from DC up to 10kHz when measuring the electric and magnetic waveform and spectra; the Thermal Noise and High Frequency Receiver (TNR-HFR) determines the electric power spectra and magnetic power spectra from 4kHz-20MHz, and 4kHz to 500kHz, respectively, to determine properties of the electron population; the Time Domain Sampler (TDS) measures and digitizes onboard the electric and magnetic field waveforms from 100 Hz to 250 kHz. The BIAS subunit measures DC and LF electric fields as well as the spacecraft potential, which gives a high cadence measure of the local plasma density when calibrated to the low-cadence tracking of the plasma peak from the TNR. Solar Orbiter approached Venus from the induced magnetotail and had its closest approach at an altitude of 7500 km over the north pole of Venus on 27 Dec 2020. The RPW instruments observed a tail region that extended several 10’s of Venus radii downstream of the planet. The induced magnetosphere was characterized to be a highly dynamic environment as Solar Orbiter traversed the downstream tail and magnetosheath before it crossed the Bow Shock outbound at ~12:40 UT. Polarized whistler waves, high frequency electrostatic waves, narrow-banded emissions, possible electron double layers were observed. The fine structure of the bow shock could also be investigated in detail. Solar Orbiter could hence enhance the knowledge of the structure of the solar wind-Venus interaction.

A large-amplitude impact-induced like electric field signal is often observed by the Radio and Plasma Wave (RPW) Instrument onboard Solar Orbiter. The signal has a sharp increase followed by an exponential decay, typically observed when spacecraft experiences a dust impact. The amplitude can reach several V/m. The impact dust size can be estimated from the electric field amplitude and is similar to the characteristic dust size near the sun expected from the zodiacal-light observations. On the other hand, the signal's decay time is the order of second, unusually long compared to the dust impact signals previously reported by the other spacecraft. We will show the characteristics of these signals and discuss the origin.

Thin current sheets are routinely observed in the solar wind. Here we report observations of thin current sheets and the associated plasma waves using the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. The Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument provides high-resolution measurements of the electric field, number density perturbations, and magnetic field fluctuations, which we use to identify and characterise the observed waves, while the magnetic field provided by the MAG instrument is used to characterise the current sheets. We discuss the role of current sheets in the generation of the observed waves and the effects of the waves on the current sheets.

Recent MMS observations (e.g. [Holmes et al, 2018, Steinvall et al., 2019]) exploring various regions of the magnetosphere have found solitary potential structures call Electron phase-space Hole (EH). These structures have kinetic scale (dozens of Debye lengths) and persist during long time (dozens of plasma frequency periods). EH are characterized by a bipolar electric field parallel to ambient magnetic field and fastly propagate along this latter (a few tenths of speed light). We have created a 3D Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal (BGK) model (as [Chen et al, 2004]) adapted to various magnetospheric ambient magnetic fields. BGK model results depend on choice of potential shape and passing distribution function at infinity (before EH potential interaction). 2D-3V Particle-In-Cell simulations have been developed with the fully kinetic code Smilei [Derouillat et al, 2017], using real magnetosphere plasma parameters. Solitary waves in the magnetotail are three-dimensional potentials which can be generated through nonlinear evolution of an electron beam instability (or bump on tail). The simulated EH are comparable to the EH observed in the magnetosphere with the same parameters. We have also investigated the EH formation with density inhomogeneities using a BGK stability model we have developed. Indeed, density inhomogeneities exist notably in interplanetary plasmas. As a result taking into account the background density inhomogeneities, significantly alters the stability criteria. We have performed 2D-3V PIC simulations with realistic inhomogeneous density background (smaller than 10% of mean density) to understand such a type of EH formation. References: Holmes et al., J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 123, 9963, 2018 Steinvall et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 255101, 2019 Chen et al., Phys. Rev. E 69, 055401, 2004 Derouillat et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 222, 351, 2017

In July 2017, the MMS constellation was evolving in the magnetotail with an apogee of 25 Earth radii and an average inter-satellite distance of 10 km (i.e. at electron scales). On 23 rd of July around 16:19 UT, MMS was located at the edge of the current sheet which was in a quasi-static state. Then, MMSsuddenly entered in the central plasma sheet and detected the local onset of a small substorm as indicated by the AE index (~400 nT). Fast earthward plasma flows were measured for about 1 hour starting with a period of quasi-steady flow and followed by a saw-tooth like series of plasma jets (“bursty bulk flows”). In the present study, we focus on a short sequence related to an ion scale current sheet crossing embedded in a fast earthward flow. We analyse in detail two other kinetic structures in the vicinity of this current sheet: an ion-scale flux rope and an electron vortex magnetic hole and discuss the Ohm’s law and conversion energy processes.

In the present work, we consider four dipolarization front (DF) events detected by MMS spacecraft in the Earth’s magnetotail during a substorm on 23rd of July 2017 between 16:05 and 17:19 UT. From their ion scale properties, we show that these four DF events embedded in fast Earthward plasma flows have classical signatures with increases of Bz, velocity and temperature and a decrease of density across the DF. We compute and compare current densities obtained from magnetic and particle measurements and analyse the Ohm’s law. Then we describe the wave activity related to these DFs. We investigate energy conversion processes via J.E calculations and estimate the importance of the electromagnetic energy flow by computing the divergence of the Poynting vector. Finally we discuss the electromagnetic energy conservation in the context of these DFs.

International audience

The Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM) onboard Solar Orbiter is part of the Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) experiment and measures the variations of the magnetic field between 10 Hz and 50 kHz on three axes and between 1 kHz and 1MHz in one axis. The SCM is located on the boom of the spacecraft and its signal is processed by the LFR, TDS, and HFR analyzers of the RPW experiment. These measurements are essential for the characterization of waves and turbulence in the solar wind. We will describe the first observations made by the instrument with an emphasis on its performances.

In July 2017, the MMS constellation was in the magnetotail with an apogee of 25 Earth radiiand an average inter-satellite distance of 10 km (i.e. at electron scales). On 23 July around16:19 UT, MMS was located at the edge of the current sheet which was in a quasi-staticstate. Then, MMS suddenly entered in the central plasma sheet and detected the local onsetof a small substorm as indicated by the AE index (~400 nT). Fast earthward plasma flowswere measured for about 1 hour starting with a period of quasi-steady flow and followed bya saw-tooth like series of fast flows associated with dipolarization fronts. This plasmatransport sequence finished with a flow reversal still occurring close to the magneticequator. In the present study, we investigate the energy conversion processes at ion andelectron scales for these different phases with particular attention on the processes in thevicinity of the dipolarization fronts.

The Radio and Plasma Wave instrument (RPW) for Solar Orbiter includes a Time Domain Sampler sub-unit (TDS) designed to capture electromagnetic waveform measurements of high-frequency plasma waves and antenna voltage spikes associated with dust impacts. TDS will digitize three components of the electric field and one magnetic component at 524 kHz sampling rate and scan the obtained signal for plasma waves and dust impact signatures. The main science target of TDS are Langmuir waves observed in the solar wind in association with Type II and Type III solar bursts, interplanetary shocks, magnetic holes, and other phenomena. In this poster, we present the scientific data products provided by the TDS instrument and discuss the first data obtained during the commissioning phase. The first data will be used to evaluate the actual performance of the RPW TDS instrument.

The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission is the first large-class (L1) mission in ESA Cosmic Vision. JUICE is planned for launch in 2022 with arrival at Jupiter in 2029 and will spend at least four years making detailed observations of Jupiter’s magnetosphere and of three of its largest moons (Ganymede, Callisto and Europa). The Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) consortium will carry the most advanced set of electric and magnetic fields sensors ever flown in Jupiter’s magnetosphere, which will allow to characterize the radio emission and plasma wave environment of Jupiter and its icy moons. Here we present the scientific objectives and the technical features of the Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM) of RPWI. SCM will provide for the first time high-quality three-dimensional measurements of magnetic field fluctuations’ vector in the frequency range 0.1 Hz – 20 kHz within Jupiter’s magnetosphere. High sensitivity (~ 4 fT / √Hz at 4 kHz) will be assured by combining an optimized (20 cm long) magnetic transducer with a low-noise (4 nV / √Hz ) ASICs pre-amplifier for the front-end electronics. Perturbations by the spacecraft are strongly reduced by accommodating SCM more at ~ 10 m away from the spacecraft on the JUICE magnetometer boom. The combination of high sensitivity and high cleanliness of SCM measurements will allow unpreceded studies of waves and turbulence down to kinetic scales, in particular in key regions such as the magnetopause, the auroral region and the magnetotail current sheet of Ganymede’s magnetosphere. This will lead to important advances in understanding wave-particle interaction and particle energization mechanisms in Jupiter’s magnetosphere.

The BIAS subsystem is a part of the Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument on the ESA Solar Orbiter mission. It allows sending bias current to each of the three RPW antennas. By setting the appropriate bias current the antenna potential can be shifted closer to the local plasma potential. This allows us to measure the floating potential of the spacecraft, as well as the electric field in the DC/LF frequency range with higher accuracy and lower noise level. Here we present the very initial results on RPW/BIAS in-flight performance based on the operations during the instrument commissioning.

We will review the instrumental capabilities of the Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) Instrument on Solar Orbiter which at the time of writing this abstract is planned for a launch on February 5th 2020. This instrument is designed to measure in-situ magnetic and electric fields and waves from 'DC' to a few hundreds of kHz. RPW will also observe solar radio emissions up to 16 MHz. The RPW instrument is of primary importance to the Solar Orbiter mission and science requirements, since it is essential to answer three of the four mission overarching science objectives. In addition, RPW will exchange on-board data with the other in-situ instruments, in order to process algorithms for interplanetary shocks and type III Langmuir waves detections. If everything goes well after the launch, we will hopefully be able to present the first RPW data and results gathered during the commissioning.

A striking feature of the Indian Ocean is a distinct geoid low south of India, pointing to a regionally anomalous mantle density structure. Equally prominent are rapid plate convergence rate variations between India and SE Asia, particularly in Late Cretaceous/Paleocene times. Both observations are linked to the central Neo‐Tethys Ocean subduction history, for which competing scenarios have been proposed. Here we evaluate three alternative reconstructions by assimilating their associated time‐dependent velocity fields in global high‐resolution geodynamic Earth models, allowing us to predict the resulting seismic mantle heterogeneity and geoid signal. Our analysis reveals that a geoid low similar to the one observed develops naturally when a long‐lived back‐arc basin south of Eurasia's paleomargin is assumed. A quantitative comparison to seismic tomography further supports this model. In contrast, reconstructions assuming a single northward dipping subduction zone along Eurasia's margin or models incorporating a temporary southward dipping intraoceanic subduction zone cannot sufficiently reproduce geoid and seismic observations.

More than a third of all exoplanets can be classified as super-Earths based on radius (1-2 $R_{\bigoplus}$) and mass (< 10 $M_{\bigoplus}$). Here we model mass-radius relations based on silicate mantle and iron core equations of state to infer to first order the structure and composition range of rocky super-Earths assuming insignificant gas envelopes. We develop a new equation of state of hexagonal close packed (hcp) iron for super-Earth conditions (SEOS) based on density functional theory results for pressures up to 137~TPa. A comparison of SEOS and extrapolated equations of state for iron from the literature reveals differences in density of up to 4% at 1~TPa and up to 20% at 10~TPa. Such density differences change the derived mass by up to 10\% for Earth-like super-Earths (core radius fraction of 0.5) and 20% for Mercury-like super-Earths (core radius fraction of 0.8). We find that the effect of temperature on mass (< 5%) is smaller than that resulting from the extrapolation of the equations of state of iron and lower mantle temperatures are too low to allow for rock and iron miscibility for R, 24 pages, 12 figures

In collisionless plasmas, turbulence is thought to play an important role in mass transport and energy dissipation. Magnetic fluctuations in the Jovian magnetosphere are essential in a turbulent state. Previous studies of that turbulence have focused on the large scales using low time resolution of magnetic field data. Here we extend those studies to cover a wider range of scales by combining both low and high-time-resolution data of Galileo magnetometer. We use particle data from the plasma instrument and include energetic particle contributions to estimate the local plasma parameters. We obtain 11 power spectra of magnetic field in the frequency range of 10(-4)-1Hz, which covers both magnetohydrodynamics and ion kinetic scales. The frequencies of the evidenced spectral breaks are found to be relatively well correlated with the characteristic scales of heavy ion. The spectral indices below and above the spectral breaks are found to be broad and cover the ranges of 0.6-1.9 and 1.7-2.5, respectively. An analysis of higher-order statistics shows an intermittent feature of the turbulence, found to be more prominent in the plasma sheet than in the lobe. Furthermore, a statistical survey of the power of the fluctuations using low-time-resolution data suggests a radially varying dawn-dusk asymmetry: the total power is larger in the duskside (dawnside) at \textless50 R-J (\textgreater80 R-J), which would reflect flow shear and global magnetospheric activity.

International audience; In August 2016, the MMS constellation was in the magnetotail with an orbit apogee of 12 Earth radii and an average inter-satellite distance of 60 km (i.e. between electron and ion scales). On August 10, 2016 although MMS was located quite far from the magnetic equator, it detected multiple dipolarization signatures associated with substorm events. In this study, we focus on the wave activity detected during one of the dipolarization event and in particular we analyze in details the electromagnetic electron phase-space hole like signatures observed by three of the four MMS spacecraft. Such signatures have been already detected by one of the THEMIS probes under similar magnetospheric conditions. However, the MMS tetrahedral configuration with its small inter-satellite separation allows us to better analyze the characteristics of these structures such as their velocity, their direction of propagation, their internal structure and/or their time evolution. The consistency of these observations with existing models will be discussed.

We report on quasi-parallel whistler emissions detected by the near-earth satellites of the THEMIS mission before, during, and after local dipolarization. These emissions are associated with an electron temperature anisotropy α=T⊥e/T||e>1 consistent with the linear theory of whistler mode anisotropy instability. When the whistler mode emissions are observed the measured electron anisotropy varies inversely with β||e (the ratio of the electron parallel pressure to the magnetic pressure) as predicted by Gary and Wang (1996). Narrow band whistler emissions correspond to the small α existing before dipolarization whereas the broad band emissions correspond to large α observed during and after dipolarization. The energy in the whistler mode is leaving the current sheet and is propagating along the background magnetic field, towards the Earth. A simple time-independent description based on the Liouville's theorem indicates that the electron temperature anisotropy decreases with the distance along the magnetic field from the equator. Once this variation of α is taken into account, the linear theory predicts an equatorial origin for the whistler mode. The linear theory is also consistent with the observed bandwidth of wave emissions. Yet, the anisotropy required to be fully consistent with the observations is somewhat larger than the measured one. Although the discrepancy remains within the instrumental error bars, this could be due to time-dependent effects which have been neglected. The possible role of the whistler waves in the substorm process is discussed.

Using plasma wave data sampled by the Freja spacecraft from the topside ionosphere during auroral conditions, the possible existence of electric fields with an intense parallel component (a few tens of millivolts per meter) with respect to the Earth's magnetic field is discussed. When Freja crosses large-amplitude solitary electromagnetic structures (ΔE ≈ 100 mV/m and ΔB ≈ 10 nT, identified as being solitary kinetic Alfven waves), strong electric spikes are sometimes detected along a direction almost parallel to the static magnetic field. The possible sources of errors due to the plasma inhomogeneities and/or to the magnetic connection between the electric probe and the spacecraft body are reviewed and discussed. In particular, using an indirect technique based on the reconstruction of the electric field hodograms, it is shown that these sources of errors have no influence on our conclusions. Unless unknown mechanisms strongly affect the validity of double-probe measurements in some circumstances, it is then concluded that an electric field with a parallel component 2–3 orders of magnitude larger than expected from the theory of kinetic Alfven waves can develop in the topside ionosphere.

Using a particular mode of the FREJA wave experiment (three magnetic and one electric simultaneous measurements), we have investigated the electromagnetic structure of the solitary kinetic Alfven waves observed in the topside ionosphere. It is shown that these strong electromagnetic spikes (ΔE ≈ 100 mV/m and ΔB ≈ 10 nT) have mainly a rotational character with, nevertheless, a tiny compressional component (ΔB‖/ΔB ≈ 10 %). They seem to be associated with small-scale (100 m) tubular current structures. On the assumption that their electric component is perpendicular to the magnetic one their Poynting flux is estimated. Values of the order of 10−3 W/m2 are measured.

[1] We examine the influence of variable thermal properties on the thermal state of a subducting slab in the upper mantle and the transition zone by combining a kinematic slab model with models of thermal conductivity. Thermal diffusivity and conductivity models for major mantle minerals in the MgO-SiO2 system are developed based on experimental measurements on these minerals at high pressure and temperature. The models show significantly higher thermal conductivity for stishovite and clinopyroxene compared to the Mg2SiO4 polymorphs and majorite garnet. In our subduction model we consider scenarios with a differentiated slab (basalt–harzburgite–pyrolite) in a pyrolite mantle and uniform composition for both the slab and the mantle (pyrolite or a pure Mg2SiO4-based system). The role of highly conductive pyroxene is examined by taking it into account in some models and replacing it in others with majorite garnet. This choice has a strong influence on the thermal state of the slab, shifting the depth of the −1000 K temperature anomaly by as much as 100 km. This is caused by faster cooling of the plate at the surface and thermal insulating effects once subducted. Temperature differences between models with variable thermal diffusivity and those with constant parameters can reach ∼125 K, i.e. 10% of total thermal anomalies of the slab relative to an average geotherm. Taking into account the stable mineral phases we evaluate density variations between different models and find that variable thermal diffusivity results in a modest increase of negative buoyancy of the slab.

The widespread existence of naturally excited broadband electrostatic wave activity up to 15 kHz, with predominantly parallel polarization, have been detected in the topside auroral ionosphere by the wave experiment onboard the Freja S/C. Amplitudes of a few mV/m electric field fluctuations and a few % density fluctuations are typically observed, but stronger cases are quite common. These emissions are most often observed within the auroral energization region according to the plasma instrument data, and coincide frequently with Alfven wave activity from a few Hz to tens of Hz. This suggests that the electrostatic emission is linked to the nonlinear evolution of kinetic Alfven waves.

Wave data from the recently launched Freja satellite, show a close relationship between Alfven wave activity and ion acoustic wave activity within auroral energization regions. The Alfven wave activity becomes especially strong (several 100 mV/m) in localized regions with horizontal scales of a few hundred meters to a km (few tens of Hz in the S/C reference system). In some cases these signatures become more electrostatic-like and filled with broadband, high frequency electrostatic turbulence up to 15 kHz. This broadband electrostatic turbulence has an amplitude comparable to the larger scale electric signatures, and is identified as ion acoustic waves. We argue that these signatures have evolved from solitary kinetic Alfven waves (SKAW), and may be important for auroral energization processes.

International audience; For linear Langmuir waves, it is well known that the energy exchanges generally lead to a continuous dissipation, on average, from the electric form to the kinetic one. Many papers have estimated these exchanges and indeed shown that the classical Landau value gammaL, characterizing the electric field damping, can be derived from this estimation. The paper comes back to this demonstration and its implicit assumption of ``forgetting the initial conditions.'' The limits of the usual energy calculations have become much apparent recently when non-Landau solutions, decreasing with damping rates smaller than gammaL, have been evidenced [Belmont et al., Phys. Plasmas 15, 052310 (2008)]. Taking advantage of the explicit form provided in this paper for the perturbed distribution function, the dissipation process is revisited here in a more general way. It is shown that the energy calculations, when complete (i.e., when the role of the initial conditions is not excluded by the very hypotheses of the calculations), are indeed in full agreement with the existence of non-Landau solutions; Landau damping, by the way, appears as a particular mode of dissipation, in which the ballistic transport of the initial plasma perturbation leads to negligible effects. Two approaches are presented for this demonstration, Eulerian and Lagrangian, the first one starting from the Vlasov equation and the second from the dynamics of the individual particles. The specific role of the so-called resonant particles is investigated in both formalisms, which provides complementary pictures of the microphysics involved in the energy transfers between field and particles for Landau as well as for non-Landau solutions.

International audience; The propagation of linear one dimensional (1D) Langmuir waves is reinvestigated using numerical simulations of a new type with very low noise. The dependence of the result on the initial conditions is shown. New solutions are exhibited, with properties different from Landau's, even in the asymptotic behavior, in particular with regard to the damping rate. These solutions are shown to demand a special preparation of the initial plasma perturbation, but in a way which is quite physical, without any singularity in the electron distribution function, contrary to the classical van Kampen's solutions. Using an original theoretical calculation, a simple analytical form is derived for the perturbed distribution function, which allows interpreting both the Landau and non-Landau solutions observed numerically. The numerical results presented and their interpretations are potentially important in several respects: 1) They outline that Landau solutions, for the 1D electrostatic problem in collisionless plasmas, are only a few among an infinite amount of others; even if the non-Landau solutions are much less probable, their existence provides a different view on the concept of kinetic damping and may suggest interpretations different from usual for the subsequent nonlinear effects; 2) they show that the shape of the initial perturbation deltaf(v ), and not only its amplitude, is important for the long time wave properties, both linear and nonlinear; 3) the existence of non-Landau solutions makes clear that the classical energy arguments cannot be fully universal as long as they allow deriving the Landau damping rate independently of the initial conditions; 4) the particle signature of Landau damping, different from the usual guess, should imply a change in our understanding of the role of the resonant particles.

On 23 March 2002, the four Cluster spacecraft crossed in close configuration (~100 km separation) the high-altitude (10 RE) cusp region. During a large part of the crossing, the STAFF and EFW instruments have detected strong electromagnetic wave activity at low frequencies, especially when intense field-aligned proton fluxes were detected by the CIS/HIA instrument. In all likelihood, such fluxes correspond to newly-reconnected field lines. A focus on one of these ion injection periods highlights the interaction between waves and protons. The wave activity has been investigated using the k-filtering technique. Experimental dispersion relations have been built in the plasma frame for the two most energetic wave modes. Results show that kinetic Alfvén waves dominate the electromagnetic wave spectrum up to 1 Hz (in the spacecraft frame). Above 0.8 Hz, intense Bernstein waves are also observed. The close simultaneity observed between the wave and particle events is discussed as an evidence for local wave generation. A mechanism based on current instabilities is consistent with the observations of the kinetic Alfvén waves. A weak ion heating along the recently-opened field lines is also suggested from the examination of the ion distribution functions. During an injection event, a large plasma convection motion, indicative of a reconnection site location, is shown to be consistent with the velocity perturbation induced by the large-scale Alfvén wave simultaneously detected.

International audience

International audience; In the present study, we analyze different dayside magnetopause crossings detected by the MMS mission in order to investigate the relation between the electromagnetic wave activity and particle heating/acceleration. In particular, our study is focused on two different frequency ranges: (1) 1-10 Hz range which corresponds to the frequency domain of kinetic Alfvén and lower-hybrid waves, (2) 10 Hz-1kHz which corresponds mainly to the whistler mode wave frequency domain. After characterizing the different types of waves, we estimate their respective energy content as well as their possible role for heating and accelerating the plasma.

International audience; Since the 9th of July, the MMS fleet of four satellites have evolved into a tetrahedral configuration with an average inter-satellite distance of 160 km and an apogee of 12 earth radii on the dusk side. In this study we report on ultra-low (1 mHz to ~10 Hz) and very-low (10 Hz to ~ 4 kHz) frequency wave activity measured by the four satellites during several crossings of the dusk equatorial magnetopause. Since the Larmor radius of magnetosheath protons is of the order of 50 km, this inter-satellite distance allows us to investigate in detail the physics of the magnetopause at proton scales including current structures related to Kelvin-Helmholtz instability as well as other energy transfer processes. From wave polarization analysis, we characterize the different types of emissions and discuss different mechanisms of heating and acceleration of particles. In particular, we focus on the electron heating by kinetic Alfvén waves and lower hybrid waves and the electron acceleration by oblique whistler mode waves, which have been suggested as possible mechanisms from previous Cluster and THEMIS measurements.