Ion Beams in the Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer

We explore characteristics of energetic particles in the plasma sheet boundary layer associated with dipolarization events, based on simulations and observations. The simulations use the electromagnetic fields of an MHD simulation of magnetotail reconnection and flow bursts as basis for test particle tracing. They are complemented by self-consistent fully electrodynamic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The test particle simulations confirm that crescent shaped earthward flowing ion velocity distributions with strong perpendicular anisotropy can be generated as a consequence of near tail reconnection, associated with earthward flows and propagating magnetic field dipolarization fronts. Both PIC and test particle simulations show that the ion distribution in the outflow region close to the reconnection site also consist of a beam superposed on an undisturbed population; this beam, however, does not show strong perpendicular anisotropy. This suggests that the crescent shape is created by quasi-adiabatic deformation from ion motion along the magnetic field toward higher field strength. The simulation results compare favorably with ``Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms" (THEMIS) observations.