Waves and Transport at the Magnetopause
Project Description:
Recent observations have brought attention to significant populations
of cold, dense plasma in the dayside and flank low-latitude boundary
layer associated with substantial wave activity. The origin and
physical processes which give rise to these observations remains an
outstanding issue. High latitude reconnection and low frequency wave
activity at the boundaries seem the most likely source of the
particles. We propose to examine local wave properties at the
magnetopause boundary that could broaden the boundary layer, cause
significant particle entry, and produce the characteristic particle
signatures observed during magnetopause crossings.
We will perform two-dimensional, electromagnetic particle simluations
of the magnetopause to study the formation and stability of the
magnetopause current layer in regions where there is substantial flow
along the magnetopause interface (on the dayside and tail flanks). In
particular, we will consider geometries considered unstable to the
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. The simulations will include full ion
and electron dynamics which are both important in determining the
structure of the boundary layer. We will also examine the role of
compressional turbulence in the sheath impinging on the magnetopause
during this process. Particular attention will be devoted to
differences in the dayside dawn and dusk signatures. We will
compare the results obtained from the simulation model
with space observations in order to improve our understanding of the
formation and stability of the magnetopause and its boundary layers.
Principal Investigator:
Jay R. Johnson
Princeton University
Co-Investigators:
Simon Wing
The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
Eun-Hwa Kim
Princeton University
Publications and Reports:
First Year
Project report (due March 2005)
Stochastic Ion
Heating at the Magnetopause Due to Kinetic Alfven Waves
Signatures of
Mode Conversion and Kinetic Alfven Waves at the Magnetopause
Kinetic Alfven
Waves and Plasma Transport at the Magnetopause
Kinetic Alfven
Waves as a Source of Plasma Transport at the Dayside Magnetopause
This project is supported by NASA Grant NNH04AB23I.
Jay R. Johnson / jrj@pppl.gov/243-2603