EGU2020-6858
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6858
EGU General Assembly 2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Observations of ULF Waves and Correlated Low-Energy IonMonoenergetic Acceleration
- Polar Research Institute of China, upper atmospheric and space physics, China (libin@pric.org.cn)
Low‐energy ions of ionospheric origin with energies below 10s of electron volt dominate most
of the volume and mass of the terrestrial magnetosphere. However, sunlit spacecraft often become
positively charged to several 10s of volts, which prevents low‐energy ions from reaching the particle
detectors on the spacecraft. Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft (MMS) observations show that
ultralow‐frequency (ULF) waves drive low‐energy ions to drift in the E × B direction with a drift velocity
equal to VE×B, and low‐energy ions were accelerated to suffificient total energy to be measured by the
MMS/Fast Plasma Investigation Dual Ion Spectrometers. The maximum low‐energy ion energy flflux peak
seen in MMS1's dual ion spectrometer measurements agreed well with the theoretical calculation of H+ ion
E × B drift energy. The density of ions in the energy range below minimum energy threshold was
between 1 and 3 cm−3 in the magnetosphere subsolar region in this event.
How to cite: Li, B.: Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Observations of ULF Waves and Correlated Low-Energy IonMonoenergetic Acceleration, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6858, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6858, 2020