Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 77, June 1, 1972, p. 2780-2798.
Observation that the high-latitude trapping boundary for 20-keV electrons and 100-keV protons became very thin in the early morning hours during two intense substorms. The gradients were too steep to be maintained by drifting particles, so they must have been produced locally over the nightside of the earth. The flux gradient is seen to move at speeds in excess of 100 km/sec. Plasma appears to move away from the tail and around the earth at these high speeds during the sudden expansion phases of the substorms. The rapid plasma motion requires the presence of fluctuating electric fields that sometimes exceed 50 to 100 mV/m at a geomagnetic latitude of 30 deg on the L = 5 field line. These observations fit best into a model that contains two field-aligned sheet currents. The high electric fields that accompany the rapid plasma flow can produce nonadiabatic acceleration of 0.1- to 1-MeV electrons and protons.
Major Subject Terms: MAGNETIC STORMS, PLASMA CONTROL, TRAPPED PARTICLES
Minor Subject Terms: EARTH IONOSPHERE, ELECTRIC FIELDS, ELECTRON ENERGY, FIELD ALIGNED CURRENTS, GEOMAGNETIC TAIL, WAVE PROPAGATION
CASI Accession Number: A7232958 ISSN