Comparative Studies on Magnetotail Dynamics Between the Earth, Saturn and Jupiter

Magnetotail plasma transport plays an important role in the tail-inner magnetosphere coupling in space plasma systems, especially within the Earth's magnetosphere. Both observational and computational studies have shown that dynamic processes such as bursty bulk flows (BBFs) occur frequently in the Earth's magnetotail due to localized reconnection events. These BBFs transport mass, momentum, energy and magnetic flux which contributes to the dynamic coupling between the Earth's magnetotail and inner magnetosphere-ionosphere system. Using the newly developed code GAMERA together with ionospheric electrodynamics coupler REMIX, we present highly-resolved global MHD simulations for the magnetotails of the Earth, Saturn and Jupiter magnetosphere systems, focusing on the differences in magnetic field topology and plasma transport processes in these different space plasma environments. Preliminary results suggest that unlike the Earth's magnetotail, which is primarily controlled by the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the Jovian magnetotail is insensitive to the IMF conditions since it is primarily controlled by the fast rotation of the magnetosphere. Therefore the coupling between tail and inner magnetosphere is very likely inefficient through the BBF process in the Jovian magnetotail. The magnetotail transport within the Saturn magnetosphere exhibits properties of both Earth- and Jovian-like in terms of flow injections, which is controlled by both the fast planetary rotation and upstream driving conditions. Further analysis suggests that the Saturn simulation results are consistent with Cassini observations, while the Jovian simulation results are instrumental in placing Juno in-situ observations in a global context for further validation.