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Two classes of equatorial magnetotail dipolarization fronts observed by Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission: A statistical overview
  • +21
  • Soboh Wajih Al Qeeq,
  • Olivier Le Contel,
  • Patrick CANU,
  • Alessandro Retinò,
  • Thomas Chust,
  • Laurent Mirioni,
  • A. Chuvatin,
  • Rumi Nakamura,
  • Narges Ahmadi,
  • Frederick Wilder,
  • Daniel J Gershman,
  • Yuri V. Khotyaintsev,
  • Per-Arne Lindqvist,
  • Robert E Ergun,
  • James L Burch,
  • Roy B. Torbert,
  • Stephen A. Fuselier,
  • Christopher T. Russell,
  • H. Y. Wei,
  • Robert J. Strangeway,
  • Kenneth R Bromund,
  • David Fischer,
  • Barbara L. Giles,
  • Yasuyuki Saito
Soboh Wajih Al Qeeq
Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Olivier Le Contel
CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université/Université Paris-Saclay/Obser. de Paris
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Patrick CANU
Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas
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Alessandro Retinò
Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France ([email protected]),
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Thomas Chust
LPP
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Laurent Mirioni
CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/UPMC/Univ. Paris-Sud/Obser. de Paris
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A. Chuvatin
Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas
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Rumi Nakamura
Space Research Institute
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Narges Ahmadi
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder
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Frederick Wilder
Unknown
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Daniel J Gershman
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Yuri V. Khotyaintsev
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Per-Arne Lindqvist
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
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Robert E Ergun
Univeristy of Colorado
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James L Burch
Southwest Research Institute
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Roy B. Torbert
University of New Hampshire
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Stephen A. Fuselier
Southwest Research Institute
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Christopher T. Russell
University of California Los Angeles
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H. Y. Wei
University of California Los Angeles
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Robert J. Strangeway
University of California Los Angeles
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Kenneth R Bromund
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
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David Fischer
Institut fuer Weltraumforschung, Austrian Academy of Sciences
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Barbara L. Giles
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Yasuyuki Saito
University of Tokyo
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Abstract

We carried out a statistical study of equatorial dipolarization fronts (DFs) detected by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) during the full 2017 Earth’s magnetotail season. We found that two DF classes are distinguished: class I (74.4%) corresponds to the standard DF properties and energy dissipation and a new class II (25.6%). This new class includes the six DF discussed in Alqeeq et al. (2022) and corresponds to a bump of the magnetic field associated with a minimum in the ion and electron pressures and a reversal of the energy conversion process. The possible origin of this second class is discussed. Both DF classes show that the energy conversion process in the spacecraft frame is driven by the diamagnetic current dominated by the ion pressure gradient. In the fluid frame, it is driven by the electron pressure gradient. In addition, we have shown that the energy conversion processes are not homogeneous at the electron scale mostly due to the variations of the electric fields for both DF classes.
28 Aug 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
11 Sep 2023Published in ESS Open Archive