Title: Review on the Characteristics of the Current Sheet in the Earth's Magnetotail
Abstract: Chapter 10 Review on the Characteristics of the Current Sheet in the Earth's Magnetotail A. T. Y. Lui, A. T. Y. Lui JHU/APL, Laurel, Maryland, USASearch for more papers by this author A. T. Y. Lui, A. T. Y. Lui JHU/APL, Laurel, Maryland, USASearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):Andreas Keiling, Andreas KeilingSearch for more papers by this authorOctav Marghitu, Octav MarghituSearch for more papers by this authorMichael Wheatland, Michael WheatlandSearch for more papers by this author First published: 31 March 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119324522.ch10Citations: 7Book Series:Geophysical Monograph Series AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Summary The current sheet in the Earth's magnetotail is a plasma region where many dynamic phenomena occur and has been attributed to be the origin of the many magnetospheric disturbances. In addition, it is often viewed as a prototype of current sheet in other planets in our solar system as well as in astrophysical systems. The Earth's magnetotail has been surveyed by more satellite missions than at other planets, thus providing valuable knowledge that can be utilized in studies of other plasma systems. In this review, the basic characteristics of the current sheet are briefly discussed, followed by descriptions of some prominent structures and its motions. Its internal properties are also found to be influenced by the external solar wind magnetic field. A fundamentally important link between the Earth's magnetotail and the ionosphere is via magnetic-field-aligned currents, especially during substorm periods. Evaluation of this link brings to light the importance of kinetic processes in magnetospheric dynamics and some major discrepancies of the usually adopted fluid description of these phenomena. In particular, observations on the changes in current density and magnetic field during substorm activities in the magnetotail reveal very short timescales, indicating kinetic processes at play. The frozen-in condition that is implicitly assumed in fluid treatments of plasma dynamics is found to be invalid in these dynamic episodes. In addition, there is compelling evidence showing that observed features of the substorm current system are in agreement with the predictions by a kinetic approach but contradict the predictions by the fluid approach. Citing Literature Electric Currents in Geospace and Beyond RelatedInformation
Publication Year: 2018
Publication Date: 2018-03-31
Language: en
Type: other
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 10
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