Low-altitude electron acceleration due to multiple flow bursts in the magnetotail

Abstract

At 10:00 UT on 25 February 2008, Cluster 1 spacecraft crossed the near-midnight auroral zone, at about 2 RE altitude, while two of the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft, THD and THE, observed multiple flow bursts on the near-conjugate plasma sheet field lines. The flow shear pattern at THEMIS was consistent with the vortical motion at duskside of a localized flow channel. Coinciding in time with the flow bursts, Cluster 1 observed bursts of counterstreaming electrons with mostly low energies (≤441 eV), accompanied by short time scale (<5 s) magnetic field disturbances embedded in flow-associated field-aligned current systems. This conjugate event not only confirms the idea that the plasma sheet flows are the driver of the kinetic Alfvén waves accelerating the low-energy electrons but is a unique observation of disturbances in the high-altitude auroral region relevant to the multiple plasma sheet flows. Key Points First observation of multiple flow signatures on near-conjugate flux tubes Low-energy electron profile suggests Alfvenic acceleration due to fast flow Multiple flow bursts are obtained to extend over large radial distance in tail ©2014. The Authors.