Electron-scale sheets of whistlers close to the magnetopause

Abstract

Whistler emissions close to the magnetopause on the magnetospheric side are investigated using the four Cluster spacecraft. The waves are found to be generated in thin (electron-scale) sheets moving with the plasma drift velocity. A feature in the electron data coincides with the waves; hot magnetospheric electrons disappear for a few satellite spins. This produces or enhances a temperature anisotropy, which is found to be responsible for the generation of the whistler mode waves. The high energy electrons are thought to be lost through the magnetopause and we suggest that the field lines, on which the waves are generated, are directly connected to a reconnection diffusion region at the magnetopause. © European Geosciences Union 2005.