EGU26-2412, updated on 13 Mar 2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-2412
EGU General Assembly 2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Poster | Tuesday, 05 May, 14:00–15:45 (CEST), Display time Tuesday, 05 May, 14:00–18:00
 
Hall X4, X4.75
Strong energy conversion by a magnetic hole behind a dipolarization front
Zhenyu Xu1,2, Huishan Fu1,2, Wending Fu1,2, Wenzhe Zhang1,2, Zhe Wang1,2, Zhizhong Guo1,2, Chenxi Du1,2, and Jinbin Cao1,2
Zhenyu Xu et al.
  • 1School of Space and Earth Sciences, Beihang university, China (xzybuaa@buaa.edu.cn)
  • 2Key Laboratory of Space Environment Monitoring and Information Processing, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Beijing, China (xzybuaa@buaa.edu.cn)

Dipolarization fronts (DFs) have been widely reported in the Earth’s magnetotail and are suggested to play an important role in energy conversion. Magnetic holes (MHs) are also usually observed near DFs, and recent spacecraft observations suggest that they can be excited by interchange instability (ICI). However, whether the MHs near DFs could contribute to energy conversion is still unknown. Here, by using the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission observations, we find a sub-ion scale MH behind a DF. We present a two-dimensional illustration of the MH, revealing that such an MH was generated by the ICI. Inside this MH, a significant energy conversion up to ~ 2 nW/m3 (higher than typical observations near DFs) is caused by the local electron vortex current inside the MH and the background electric field on the DF. This study improves our understanding of energy injection during substorms and energy conversion near DFs.

How to cite: Xu, Z., Fu, H., Fu, W., Zhang, W., Wang, Z., Guo, Z., Du, C., and Cao, J.: Strong energy conversion by a magnetic hole behind a dipolarization front, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-2412, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-2412, 2026.