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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 35,
L20107,
7 PP., 2008
doi:10.1029/2008GL035757
Interaction between kinetic ballooning perturbation and thin current sheet: Quasi-electrostatic field, local onset, and global characteristics
Space Science Branch, Canadian Space Agency, Saint Hubert, Quebec, Canada
Space Science Branch, Canadian Space Agency, Saint Hubert, Quebec, Canada
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
We present observation of plasma waves in the current sheet across multiple THEMIS satellites in a substorm event on March 5, 2008. It is shown that the arrival of a kinetic ballooning perturbation interacts with the local current sheet to generate a quasi-electrostatic wave a few minutes before local onset, consistent with the prediction that the current sheet thins after the passage of a rarefaction wave. The propagation speed of current disruption front is found to be ∼100 km/s, about a tenth of the fast mode speed. The observed pattern of interaction was constant across radial distances between 10 and 20 R E in the event reported. It is further proposed that the presence of the quasi-electrostatic field may change the local stability condition and induce local current disruption.
Received 20 August 2008; accepted 1 October 2008; published 30 October 2008.
Citation: (2008), Interaction between kinetic ballooning perturbation and thin current sheet: Quasi-electrostatic field, local onset, and global characteristics, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L20107, doi:10.1029/2008GL035757.
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