Abstract
We report observations of turbulent dissipation and particle acceleration from large-amplitude electric fields (E) associated with strong magnetic field (B) fluctuations in the Earth's plasma sheet. The turbulence occurs in a region of depleted density with anti-earthward flows followed by earthward flows suggesting ongoing magnetic reconnection. In the turbulent region, ions and electrons have a significant increase in energy, occasionally >100 keV, and strong variation. There are numerous occurrences of |E| >100 mV/m including occurrences of large potentials (>1 kV) parallel to B and occurrences with extraordinarily large J · E (J is current density). In this event, we find that the perpendicular contribution of J · E with frequencies near or below the ion cyclotron frequency (fci) provide the majority net positive J · E. Large-amplitude parallel E events with frequencies above fci to several times the lower hybrid frequency provide significant dissipation and can result in energetic electron acceleration.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3338-3347 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Externally published | Yes |