Plasmasphere, Torus, and Cloak: An Initial View of the Typical Distribution of Cold-to-Warm Ions in the Inner Magnetosphere during the Van Allen Probes Era
Abstract
Cold-to-warm ion populations in the inner magnetosphere account for the bulk of the plasma mass in that region while their contribution to the total energy content is small by comparison. Nevertheless, these ions play an important role in wave generation and dayside reconnection. Thanks to the comprehensive coverage of the Van Allen Probes over the past 6.5 years we can now paint a more detailed picture of the distribution and dynamics of light and heavy ions in the cloak, oxygen torus, and plasmasphere. We discuss the distribution of H+, He+, and O+ ions in the inner magnetosphere for energies from a few eV to around 1 keV. We focus on the statistically "typical" ion makeup as a function of geomagnetic and solar wind conditions, and on how these characteristics change throughout the portion of the solar cycle observed by the Van Allen Probes.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFMSM23E3248J
- Keywords:
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- 2431 Ionosphere/magnetosphere interactions;
- IONOSPHERE;
- 2740 Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics;
- MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS;
- 2768 Plasmasphere;
- MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS;
- 7845 Particle acceleration;
- SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS