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Plasma density and magnetic field fluctuations in the ion gyro-frequency range near the diamagnetic cavity of comet 67P
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  • Elias Odelstad,
  • Anders I. Eriksson,
  • Mats André,
  • Daniel Bruce Graham,
  • Tomas Karlsson,
  • Andris Vaivads,
  • Erik Vigren,
  • Charlotte Goetz,
  • Hans Nilsson,
  • Pierre Henri,
  • Gabriella Stenberg Wieser
Elias Odelstad
KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Anders I. Eriksson
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Mats André
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Daniel Bruce Graham
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Tomas Karlsson
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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Andris Vaivads
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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Erik Vigren
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Charlotte Goetz
European Space Agency
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Hans Nilsson
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Pierre Henri
LPC2E, CNRS, Université d'Orléans
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Gabriella Stenberg Wieser
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Abstract

We report the detection of large-amplitude, quasi-harmonic density fluctuations with associated magnetic field oscillations in the region surrounding the diamagnetic cavity of comet 67P. Typical frequencies are ~0.1 Hz, corresponding to ~10 times the water and ≲0.5 times the proton gyro-frequencies, respectively. Magnetic field oscillations are not always clearly observed in association with these density fluctuations, but when they are, they consistently have wave vectors perpendicular to the background magnetic field, with the principal axis of polarization close to field-aligned and with a ~90° phase shift w.r.t. the density fluctuations. The fluctuations are observed in association with asymmetric plasma density and magnetic field enhancements previously found in the region surrounding the diamagnetic cavity, occurring predominantly on their descending slopes. This is a new type of waves not previously observed at comets. They are likely Ion Bernstein waves, and we propose that they are excited by unstable ring, ring-beam or spherical shell distributions of cometary ions just outside the cavity boundary. These waves may play an important role in redistributing energy between different particle populations and reshape the plasma environment of the comet.
Dec 2020Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics volume 125 issue 12. 10.1029/2020JA028592