Authors
J Liu, V Angelopoulos, A Runov, X‐Z Zhou
Publication date
2013/5
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Volume
118
Issue
5
Pages
2000-2020
Description
Using Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms observations from four tail seasons, we study the three‐dimensional structure of the dipolarization front current sheet (DFCS), which demarcates the magnetic boundary of a dipolarizing flux bundle (DFB, the strong magnetic field region led by a dipolarization front) in Earth's magnetotail. An equatorial cross section of the DFCS is convex; a meridional cross section is consistent with a dipolarized field line. The equatorial flow pattern in the ambient plasma ahead of the DFCS exhibits diversions of opposite sense on its evening and morning sides. The magnetic field perturbations are consistent with local field‐aligned current generation of region‐2 sense ahead of the front and region‐1 sense at the front. The median thickness of the DFCS increases from 800 to 2000 km with increasing distance from the neutral sheet, indicating bundle …
Total citations
20132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202473330183031282039363211
Scholar articles
J Liu, V Angelopoulos, A Runov, XZ Zhou - Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 2013