Electron scale coherent structure as micro accelerator in the Earth’s magnetosheath

Zi-Kang Xie, Qiu-Gang Zong (), Chao Yue, Xu-Zhi Zhou, Zhi-Yang Liu, Jian-Sen He, Yi-Xin Hao, Chung-Sang Ng, Hui Zhang, Shu-Tao Yao, Craig Pollock, Guan Le, Robert Ergun and Per-Arne Lindqvist
Additional contact information
Zi-Kang Xie: Peking University
Qiu-Gang Zong: Peking University
Chao Yue: Peking University
Xu-Zhi Zhou: Peking University
Zhi-Yang Liu: Peking University
Jian-Sen He: Peking University
Yi-Xin Hao: Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Chung-Sang Ng: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Hui Zhang: Shandong University
Shu-Tao Yao: Shandong University
Craig Pollock: Denali Scientific
Guan Le: Heliophysics Science Division, NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center
Robert Ergun: University of Colorado LASP
Per-Arne Lindqvist: KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Turbulent energy dissipation is a fundamental process in plasma physics that has not been settled. It is generally believed that the turbulent energy is dissipated at electron scales leading to electron energization in magnetized plasmas. Here, we propose a micro accelerator which could transform electrons from isotropic distribution to trapped, and then to stream (Strahl) distribution. From the MMS observations of an electron-scale coherent structure in the dayside magnetosheath, we identify an electron flux enhancement region in this structure collocated with an increase of magnetic field strength, which is also closely associated with a non-zero parallel electric field. We propose a trapping model considering a field-aligned electric potential together with the mirror force. The results are consistent with the observed electron fluxes from ~50 eV to ~200 eV. It further demonstrates that bidirectional electron jets can be formed by the hourglass-like magnetic configuration of the structure.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45040-5

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