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| Ultralow frequency modulation of energetic particles in the dayside magnetosphere |
| Energetic electron and ion (electrons: 30 keV to 500 keV, protons: 30 keV to 1.5 MeV) flux variations associated with ultralow frequency (ULF) waves in the dayside magnetosphere were observed during the CLUSTER's perigee pass near 0900 MLT on Oct. 31, 2003. The ULF modulation terminated where higher frequency fluctuations appeared, as the CLUSTER spacecraft entered the plasmasphere boundary layer (PBL) where the plasma ion density was elevated. In the region from L ~ 5.0 to 10, the periods of the ion flux modulation and the electron flux modulation are same but out-of-phase. The observed magnetic ULF pulsations are dominated by the toroidal mode, along with a relatively weaker poloidal wave. A 90° phase shift between the radial electric field and the azimuthal magnetic field indicates that dominating toroidal standing waves observed at the southern hemisphere are a fundamental harmonic. This study shows that the modulation of the electron flux is dominated by the toroidal mode in the region of L > 7.5. The observations made in this analysis suggest the excitation of the energetic electron drift resonance at around 127 keV. |
| Publication date: 29 Jun 2007 |
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| Solitary Electromagnetic Pulses Detected with Super-Alfvénic Flows in Earth's Geomagnetic Tail |
| Solitary nonlinear (deltaB/B >> 1) electromagnetic pulses have been detected in Earth's geomagnetic tail accompanying plasmas flowing at super-Alfvénic speeds. The pulses in the current sheet had durations of ~5 s, were left-hand circularly polarized, and had phase speeds of approximately the Alfvén speed in the plasma frame. These pulses were associated with a field-aligned current J|| and observed in low density (~0.3 cm-3), high temperature (Te~Ti~3x107 K), and beta~10 plasma that included electron and ion beams streaming along B. The wave activity was enhanced from below the ion cyclotron frequency to electron cyclotron and upper hybrid frequencies. The detailed properties suggest the pulses are nonlinearly steepened ion cyclotron or Alfvén waves. |
| Publication date: 27 Jun 2007 |
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| Satellite observations of separator-line geometry of three-dimensional magnetic reconnection |
| Detection of a separator line that connects magnetic nulls and the determination of the dynamics and plasma environment of such a structure can improve our understanding of the three-dimensional (3D) magnetic reconnection process. However, this type of field and particle configuration has not been directly observed in space plasmas. Here we report the identification of a pair of nulls, the null-null line that connects them, and associated fans and spines in the magnetotail of the Earth using data from the four Cluster spacecraft. With di and de designating the ion and electron inertial lengths, respectively, the separation between the nulls is found to be ~0.7+-0.3di and an associated oscillation is identified as a lower-hybrid wave with wavelength ~de. This in situ evidence of the full 3D reconnection geometry and associated dynamics provides an important step towards establishing an observational framework of 3D reconnection. |
| Publication date: 24 Jun 2007 |
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| Multi-point observations of the Hall electromagnetic field and secondary island formation during magnetic reconnection |
| A key feature of collisionless magnetic reconnection is the formation of Hall magnetic and electric field structure in the vicinity of the diffusion region. Here we present multi-point Cluster observations of a reconnection event in the near-Earth magnetotail where the diffusion region was nested by the Cluster spacecraft; we compare observations made simultaneously by different spacecraft on opposite sides of the magnetotail current sheet. This allows the spatial structure of both the electric and magnetic field to be probed. It is found that, close to the diffusion region, the magnetic field displays a symmetric quadrupole structure. The Hall electric field is symmetric, observed to be inwardly directed on both sides of the current sheet. It is large (~40 mV m-1) on the earthward side of the diffusion region, but substantially weaker on the tailward side, suggesting a reduced reconnection rate reflected by a similar reduction in Ey. A small-scale magnetic flux rope was observed in conjunction with these observations. This flux rope, observed very close to the reconnection site and entrained in the plasma flow, may correspond to what have been termed secondary islands in computer simulations. The core magnetic field inside the flux rope is enhanced by a factor of 3, even though the lobe guide field is negligible. Observations of the electric field inside the magnetic island show extremely strong (~100 mV m-1) fields which may play a significant role in the particle dynamics during reconnection. |
| Publication date: 20 Jun 2007 |
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| Magnetic field rotation analysis and the applications |
| An analysis technique, termed MRA (magnetic rotation analysis), has been designed to probe three-dimensional magnetic field topology. It is based on estimating the gradient tensor of four-point measurements of the magnetic field which have been taken by the Cluster mission. The method first constructs the symmetrical magnetic rotation tensor and in general terms deduces the rotation rate of magnetic field along one arbitrary direction. In particular, the maximum, medium, and minimum magnetic rotation rates along corresponding characteristic directions of a magnetic structure can be obtained. The value of the curvature of a magnetic field line, for example, is given by the magnetic rotation rate along the magnetic unit vector and its corresponding radius of curvature is readily obtained. MRA has been applied here to analyze the geometrical structure of two distinct magnetospheric structures, i.e., the tail current sheet and the tail flux rope. The normal of the current sheet is the direction at which the magnetic field has the largest rotation rate. The half thickness of the one-dimensional neutral sheet can also be determined from the reciprocal of the maximum magnetic rotation rate. The advantage of the MRA method is that not only it can determine the orientation but also the internal geometrical configuration and spatial scale of the magnetic structures. A key feature of the MRA method is that it provides the detailed picture of the magnetic rotation point by point through any crossing of the current sheet. As a result, the thickness of the neutral sheet (NS) can be explicitly demonstrated to vary with time, as indicated in one case study, where the NS becomes thicker after the onset of a substorm. - Remainder of abstract truncated - |
| Publication date: 12 Jun 2007 |
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| Furthering our understanding of electrostatic solitary waves through Cluster multispacecraft observations and theory |
| Nonlinear isolated electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) are observed routinely at many of Earth's major boundaries by the Wideband Data (WBD) plasma wave receivers that are mounted on the four Cluster satellites. The current study discusses two aspects of ESWs: their characteristics in the magnetosheath, and their propagation in the magnetosheath and in the auroral acceleration (upward current) region. The characteristics (amplitude and time duration) of ESWs detected in the magnetosheath are presented for one case in which special mutual impedance tests were conducted allowing for the determination of the density and temperature of the hot and cold electrons. These electron parameters, together with those from the ion experiment, were used as inputs to an electron acoustic soliton model as a consideration for the generation of the observed ESWs. The results from this model showed that negative potential ESWs of a few Debye lengths (10-50 m) could be generated in this plasma. Other models of ESW generation are discussed, including beam instabilities and spontaneous generation out of turbulence. The results of two types of ESW propagation (in situ and remote sensing) studies are also presented. - Remainder of abstract truncated - |
| Publication date: 02 Jun 2007 |
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| Multi-Spacecraft Study of the 21 January 2005 ICME - Evidence of Current Sheet Substructure Near the Periphery of a Strongly Expanding, Fast Magnetic Cloud |
| We examine the near-Earth Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection (ICME) apparently related to the intense Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) event of 20 January 2005. Our purpose is to contribute to the understanding of the macroscopic structure, evolution and dynamics of the solar corona and heliosphere. Using Cluster, ACE and Wind data in the solar wind, and Geotail data in the magnetosheath, we perform a multi-spacecraft analysis of the ICME-driven shock, post-shock magnetic discontinuities and ejecta. Traversals by the well-separated near-Earth spacecraft provide a coherent picture of the ICME geometry. Following the shock, the ICME sequence starts with a hot pileup, i.e., a sheath, followed by a fast ejecta characterised by a non-compressive density enhancement (NCDE), which is caused essentially by an enrichment in helium. The plasma and magnetic observations of the ejecta are consistent with the outskirts of a structure in strong expansion, consisting of nested magnetic loops still connected to the Sun. Within the leading edge of the ejecta, we establish the presence of a tilted current sheet substructure. An analysis of the observations suggests that the tilted current sheet is draped within the overlying cloud canopy, ahead of a magnetic cloud-like structure. The flux rope interpretation of this structure near L1, confirmed by observations of the corresponding magnetic cloud, provided by Ulysses at 5.3 AU and away from the Sun-Earth line, indicates that the bulk of the cloud is in the northwest sector as seen from the Earth, with its axis nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic. - Remainder of abstract truncated - |
| Publication date: 29 May 2007 |
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| Cluster and DMSP observations of SAID electric fields |
| We report on magnetically conjugate Cluster and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite observations of subauroral ion drifts (SAID) during moderate geomagnetic activity levels on 8 April 2004. To our knowledge, the field-aligned separation of DMSP and Cluster (~28,000 km) is the largest separation ever analyzed with respect to the SAID phenomenon. Nonetheless, we show coherent, subauroral magnetosphere-ionosphere (MI) coupling along an entire field line in the post-dusk sector. The four Cluster satellites crossed SAID electric field channels with meridional magnitude EM of 25 mV/m in situ and latitudinal extent DeltaLambda ~ 0.5° in the southern and northern hemispheres near 07:00 and 07:30 UT, respectively. Cluster was near perigee (R ~ 4 RE) and within 5° (15°) of the magnetic equator for the southern (northern) crossing. The SAID were located near the plasmapause-within the ring current-plasmasphere overlap region. Downward field-aligned current signatures were observed across both SAID crossings. The most magnetically and temporally conjugate SAID field from DMSP F16A at 07:12 UT was practically identical in latitudinal size to that mapped from Cluster. Since the DMSP ion drift meter saturated at 3000 m/s (or ~114 mV/m) and the electrostatically mapped value for EM from Cluster exceeded 300 mV/m, a magnitude comparison of EM was not possible. Although the conjugate measurements show similar large-scale SAID features, the differences in substructure highlight the physical and chemical diversity of the conjugate regions. |
| Publication date: 24 May 2007 |
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| Spatial-Temporal characteristics of ion beamlets in the plasma sheet boundary layer of magnetotail |
| The processes of nonadiabatic ion acceleration occurring in the vicinity of magnetic neutral lines produce highly accelerated (up to 2500 km/s) field-aligned ion beams (beamlets) with transient appearance streaming earthward in the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) of the Earth's magnetotail. Previous studies of these phenomena based on single spacecraft (s/c) missions supported the view that beamlets are temporal transients, since the typical time of a beamlet observation at a given s/c very rarely exceeds ~1-2 min. Now multipoint Cluster observations have led to a new understanding of these phenomena with a spatial rather than a temporal structure. On the basis of 3-year Cluster measurements made in the PSBL, we present statistical evaluation of the beamlet duration (at least 5-15 min) and confirm well-manifested localization of the beamlet along Z and in some cases along Y directions, i.e., approximately across the lobe magnetic field. Earlier results reporting shorter beamlet observations could be understood by invoking not only PSBL flapping motions but also of an additional effect revealed by Cluster: earthward propagation of kink-like perturbations along the beamlet filaments. Phase velocity of these perturbations is of the order of the local Alfven velocity (V ~ 600-1400 km/s) and related fast flappings of localized beamlet structures in the Y-Z direction significantly decreasing the time of their observation at a given spacecraft. Multipoint observations of beamlets revealed that they represent long-living (~5-15 min) plasma filaments elongated along the lobe magnetic field (~60-100RE) and strongly localized in direction perpendicular to the PSBL-lobe boundary (~0.2-0.7RE). In some cases, it was also possible to estimate the width of beamlet in dawn-dusk direction which was of the order of fractions of RE. |
| Publication date: 24 May 2007 |
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| Flow burst-induced Kelvin-Helmholtz waves in the terrestrial magnetotail |
| The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) on the boundary of a flow channel in the Earth's plasma sheet is investigated using Cluster and Double Star TC1 data. It is shown that when Cluster moves into the flow channel the magnetometer measures strong oscillations of the magnetic field, that increase as the spacecraft move further into the flow channel. These waves are identified as Kelvin Helmholtz waves. DoubleStar TC1, closer to the Earth, also observes these waves when entering the flow channel but at larger amplitude and with only little flow. The increase in wave amplitude agrees with the KHI wave growth. It is argued that the development of the KHI can play a major rôle in flow braking in the magnetotail, which is an important aspect of magnetotail dynamics. The large amount of kinetic energy released by a reconnection event or bursty bulk flow gets converted to other kinds of energy such that in the near Earth region the flow is stopped. |
| Publication date: 19 May 2007 |
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| CLUSTER observations of electron outflowing beams carrying downward currents above the polar cap by northward IMF |
Above the polar cap, at about 5-9 Earth radii (RE) altitude, the PEACE experiment onboard CLUSTER detected, for the first time, electron beams outflowing from the ionosphere with large and variable energy fluxes, well collimated along the magnetic field lines. All these events occurred during periods of northward or weak interplanetary magnetic field (IMF).
These outflowing beams were generally detected below 100 eV and typically between 40 and 70 eV, just above the photoelectron level. Their energy gain can be explained by the presence of a field-aligned potential drop below the spacecraft, as in the auroral zone. The careful analysis of the beams distribution function indicates that they were not only accelerated but also heated. The parallel heating is estimated to about 2 to 20 eV and it globally tends to increase with the acceleration energy. Moreover, WHISPER observed broadband electrostatic emissions around a few kHz correlated with the outflowing electron beams, which suggests beam-plasma interactions capable of triggering plasma instabilities.
In presence of simultaneous very weak ion fluxes, the outflowing electron beams are the main carriers of downward field-aligned currents estimated to about 10 nA/m². These electron beams are actually not isolated but surrounded by wider structures of ion outflows. All along its polar cap crossings, Cluster observed successive electron and ion outflows. This implies that the polar ionosphere represents a significant source of cold plasma for the magnetosphere during northward or weak IMF conditions. The successive ion and electron outflows finally result in a filamented current system of opposite polarities which connects the polar ionosphere to distant regions of the magnetosphere. |
| Publication date: 08 May 2007 |
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| Global and local distrubances in the magnetotail during reconnection |
| We examine Cluster observations of a reconnection event at xGSM=-15.7 RE in the magnetotail on 11 October 2001, when Cluster recorded the current sheet for an extended period including the entire duration of the reconnection event. The onset of reconnection is associated with a sudden orientation change of the ambient magnetic field, which is also observed simultaneously by Goes-8 at geostationary orbit. Current sheet oscillations are observed both before reconnection and during it. The speed of the flapping motions is found to increase when the current sheet undergoes the transition from quiet to active state, as suggested by an earlier statistical result and now confirmed within one single event. Within the diffusion region both the tailward and earthward parts of the quadrupolar magnetic Hall structure are recorded as an x-line passes Cluster. We report the first observations of the Hall structure conforming to the kinks in the current sheet. This results in relatively strong fluctuations in Bz, which are shown to be the Hall signature tilted in the yz plane with the current sheet. |
| Publication date: 08 May 2007 |
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| Least-squares gradient calculation from multi-point observations of scalar and vector fields: methodology and applications with Cluster in the plasmasphere |
| This paper describes a general-purpose algorithm for computing the gradients in space and time of a scalar field, a vector field, or a divergence-free vector field, from in situ measurements by one or more spacecraft. The algorithm provides total error estimates on the computed gradient, including the effects of measurement errors, the errors due to a lack of spatio-temporal homogeneity, and errors due to small-scale fluctuations. It also has the ability to diagnose the conditioning of the problem. Optimal use is made of the data, in terms of exploiting the maximum amount of information relative to the uncertainty on the data, by solving the problem in a weighted least-squares sense. The method is illustrated using Cluster magnetic field and electron density data to compute various gradients during a traversal of the inner magnetosphere. In particular, Cluster is shown to cross azimuthal density structure, and the existence of field-aligned currents in the plasmasphere is demonstrated. |
| Publication date: 08 May 2007 |
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| Prelude to THEMIS tail conjunction study |
| A close conjunction of several satellites (LANL, GOES, Polar, Geotail, and Cluster) distributed from the geostationary altitude to about 16 RE downstream in the tail occurred during substorm activity as indicated by global auroral imaging and ground-based magnetometer data. This constellation of satellites resembles what is planned for the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscopic Interactions during Substorms) mission to resolve the substorm controversy on the location of the substorm expansion onset region. In this article, we show in detail the dipolarization and dynamic changes seen by these satellites associated with two onsets of substorm intensification activity. In particular, we find that dipolarization at ~16 RE downstream in the tail can occur with dawnward electric field and without plasma flow, just like some near-Earth dipolarization events reported previously. The spreading of substorm disturbances in the tail coupled with complementary ground observations indicates that the observed time sequence on the onsets of substorm disturbances favors initiation in the near-Earth region for this THEMIS-like conjunction. |
| Publication date: 08 May 2007 |
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| Spatial and temporal characteristics of poloidal waves in the terrestrial plasmasphere: a CLUSTER case study |
| Oscillating magnetic field lines are frequently observed by spacecraft in the terrestrial and other planetary magnetospheres. The CLUSTER mission is a very suitable tool to further study these Alfvén waves as the four CLUSTER spacecraft provide for an opportunity to separate spatial and temporal structures in the terrestrial magnetosphere. Using a large scaled configuration formed by the four spacecraft we are able to detect a poloidal Ultra-Low-Frequency (ULF) pulsation of the magnetic and electric field in order to analyze its temporal and spatial structures. For this purpose the measurements are transformed into a specific field line related coordinate system to investigate their specific amplitude pattern depending on the path of the CLUSTER spacecraft across oscillating field lines. These measurements are then compared with modeled spacecraft observations across a localized poloidal wave resonator in the dayside plasmasphere. A detailed investigation of theoretically expected poloidal eigenfrequencies allows us to specify the observed 16 mHz pulsation as a third harmonic oscillation. Based on this we perform a case study providing a clear identification of wave properties such as an spatial scale structure of about 0.67 RE, the azimuthal wave number m~30, temporal evolution, and energy transport in the detected ULF pulsations. |
| Publication date: 08 May 2007 |
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| A possible intrinsic mechanism for the quasi-periodic dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere |
| Most regions of the Jovian magnetosphere covered by the Galileo spacecraft measurements undergo quasi-periodic modulations with a time period of several Earth days. These modulations appear in various field and particle properties. Most prominent are periodically recurring ion flow bursts associated with disturbances in the meridional component of the magnetic field in the Jovian magnetotail or variations of the energy spectral shape of the particle distribution associated with the stretching and dipolarization of the magnetic field. Each individual cycle of these modulations is believed to represent a global reconfiguration of the Jovian magnetosphere. We present a simple conceptual model for these periodic processes assuming (1) ion mass loading from internal plasma sources and (2) fast planetary rotation causing magnetotail field line stretching due to centrifugal forces. This leads to a magnetotail configuration favoring magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnection causes plasmoid formation and release as well as dipolarization of field lines connected to the planet. Continued mass loading leads again to a stretching of the tail field lines. Our model shows that the suggested intrinsic mechanism can explain the observed periodicities of several days in Jovian substorm-like processes. |
| Publication date: 05 May 2007 |
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| Multispacecraft measurement of Anisotopic correlation functions in Solar Wind Turbulence |
| Multispacecraft measurements in the solar wind are used to determine the field-aligned anisotropy of magnetohydrodynamic inertial range turbulence. The ratio of the parallel to perpendicular correlation lengths is measured by using time-lagged two-point correlations to construct a spatial autocorrelation function. The mean ratio obtained, 1.79 +- 0.36, is significantly greater than unity and therefore consistent with solar wind fluctuations being anisotropic with energy predominantly in wavevectors perpendicular to the large-scale mean magnetic field. In analyzing eight 40-60 minute intervals of multipoint magnetic field data from the four Cluster spacecraft, the degree of variation in the ratio of the parallel to perpendicular correlation lengths about the mean was larger than expected. This variation does not appear to be correlated with the solar wind velocity or the plasma beta. The ratio of parallel to perpendicular correlation lengths was also uncorrelated between different field components. |
| Publication date: 30 Apr 2007 |
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| Breakdown of the frozen-in condition in the Earth's magnetotail |
| We investigate in detail the breakdown of the frozen-in condition detected by Cluster at the downstream distance of ~19 RE in the midnight sector of the magnetotail during a substorm expansion on 22 August 2001. It is found that the breakdown occurred (1) in a low-density environment with moderate to large proton plasma flow and significant fluctuations in electric and magnetic fields, (2) in regions with predominantly dissipation but occasionally dynamo effect, and (3) at times simultaneously at two Cluster satellites separated by more than 1000 km in both X- and Z-directions. Evaluation of the terms in the generalized Ohm's law indicates that the anomalous resistivity contribution arising from field fluctuations during this event is the most significant, followed by the Hall, electron viscosity, and inertial contributions in descending order of importance. This result demonstrates for the first time from observations that anomalous resistivity from field fluctuations (implying kinetic instabilities) can play a substantial role in the breakdown of the frozen-in condition in the magnetotail during substorm expansions. Consideration of several observed features in the breakdown regions indicates that the breakdown occurs in a turbulent site resembling observed features found in current disruption and dipolarization sites. |
| Publication date: 28 Apr 2007 |
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| Two sources of magnetosheath ions observed by Cluster in the mid-altitude polar cusp |
| Double cusps have been observed on a few occasions by polar orbiting spacecraft and ground-based observatories. The four Cluster spacecraft observed two distinct regions, showing characteristics of a double cusp, during a mid-altitude cusp pass on 7 August 2004. The Wind spacecraft detected a southward turning of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) at the beginning of the cusp crossings and IMF-Bz stayed negative throughout. Cluster 4 observed a high energy step in the ion precipitation around 1 keV on the equatorward side of the cusp and a dense ion population in the cusp centre. Cluster 1, entering the cusp around 1 min later, observed only a partial ion dispersion with a low energy cutoff reaching 100 eV, together with the dense ion population in the cusp centre. About 9 min later, Cluster 3 entered the cusp and observed full ion dispersion from a few keV down to around 50 eV, together with the dense ion population in the centre of the cusp. The ion flow was directed poleward and eastward in the step/dispersion, whereas in the centre of the cusp the flow was directed poleward and westward. In addition the altitude of the source region of ion injection in the step/dispersion was found 50% larger than in the cusp centre. This event could be explained by the onset of dayside reconnection when the IMF turned southward. The step would be the first signature of component reconnection near the subsolar point, and the injection in the centre of the cusp a result of anti-parallel reconnection in the northern dusk side of the cusp. A three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation is used to display the topology of the magnetic field and locate the sources of the ions during the event. |
| Publication date: 19 Apr 2007 |
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| Universal properties of the nonadiabatic acceleration of ions in current sheets |
| The electric-field-induced acceleration of ions in current sheets in a collisionless plasma is investigated. The analysis of nonadiabatic ion dynamics provides a universal property of the ion acceleration mechanism, which is independent of the magnetic-field model and the initial particle distribution function. The width of the resonance region is estimated. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental and numerical simulation data. |
| Publication date: 15 Apr 2007 |
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