Low-frequency fluctuations in the magnetosheath: Double Star TC-1 and Cluster observations
Publication date: 15 September 2008
Authors: Du, J. et al.
Journal: Science in China Series E: Technological Sciences
Volume: 51
Issue: 10
Page: 1626-1638
Year: 2008
Copyright: Science in China Press, Springer
The magnetic field variations are analyzed in the range of time periods from 4 s to 240 s in the magnetosheath observed by the Double Star TC-1 and Cluster in 2004. The characteristics of the magnetic field fluctuations are strongly controlled by the angle between the upstream interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and the normal of the bow shock. Generally speaking, the magnetic field fluctuations in the quasi-parallel magnetosheath are more intense than those in the quasi-perpendicular ones. Almost purely compressional waves are found in the quasi-perpendicular magnetosheath. With the increase of the local plasma beta, both the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field fluctuate more intensely. There exists an inverse correlation between the local temperature anisotropy Tperp./Tparallel and the plasma beta.
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