Observations of electron vorticity in the inner plasma sheet

From a limited number of observations it appears that vorticity is a common feature in the inner plasma sheet. With the four Cluster spacecraft and the four PEACE instruments positioned in a tetrahedral configuration, for the first time it is possible to directly estimate the electron fluid vorticit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annales geophysicae (1988) 2011-09, Vol.29 (9), p.1517-1527
Main Authors: GURGIOLO, C, GOLDSTEIN, M. L, VINAS, A. F, MATTHAEUS, W. H, FAZAKERLEY, A. N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Physics of the ionosphere
Physics of the magnetosphere
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Summary:From a limited number of observations it appears that vorticity is a common feature in the inner plasma sheet. With the four Cluster spacecraft and the four PEACE instruments positioned in a tetrahedral configuration, for the first time it is possible to directly estimate the electron fluid vorticity in a space plasma. We show examples of electron fluid vorticity from multiple plasma sheet crossings. These include three time periods when Cluster passed through a reconnection ion diffusion region. Enhancements in vorticity are seen in association with each crossing of the ion diffusion region.
ISSN:0992-7689
1432-0576
1432-0576
DOI:10.5194/angeo-29-1517-2011