Plasma Dynamics in the Vicinity of a Cusp-Like Magnetic Configuration

The magnetospheric cusps are an important structural element of the Earth's magnetosphere. Magnetic flux from the magnetospheric boundaries converges into the cusps and the magnetic field in the vicinity of the cusps rotates by 360 degrees. The magnetic field and plasma flow configuration allows for magnetic reconnection and Kelvin Helmholtz instabilities in the vicinity of the cusps. In addition plasma flow can become turbulent due to boundary layer separation as a result of the plasma flow over the cusp indentation. However, there are very few models based on first principles and with good numerical resolution which address the cusp physics. Here we will present results from a three dimensional MHD simulation with an initial configuration including a cusp-like magnetic field indentation. The initial conditions particularly address cases with various magnetic field orientations relative to the magnetosheath plasma flow. We investigate the cusp plasma properties in relation to the adjacent magnetosheath plasma and analyze the MHD turbulence spectrum.