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Large amplitude electrostatic proton plasma frequency waves in the magnetospheric separatrix and outflow regions during magnetic reconnection
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  • Konrad Steinvall,
  • Yuri V. Khotyaintsev,
  • Daniel Bruce Graham,
  • Andris Vaivads,
  • Mats André,
  • Christopher T. Russell
Konrad Steinvall
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Swedish Institute of Space Physics

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Yuri V. Khotyaintsev
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Daniel Bruce Graham
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Andris Vaivads
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
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Mats André
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Swedish Institute of Space Physics
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Christopher T. Russell
University of California Los Angeles, University of California Los Angeles
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Abstract

We report Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of large amplitude, parallel, electrostatic, proton plasma frequency waves on the magnetospheric side of the reconnecting magnetopause. The waves are often found in the magnetospheric separatrix region and in the outflow near the magnetospheric ion edge. Statistical results from five months of data show that these waves are closely tied to the presence of cold (typically tens of eV) ions, found for 88% of waves near the separatrix region, and that plasma properties are consistent with ion acoustic wavegrowth. We analyze one wave event in detail, concluding that the wave is ion acoustic. We provide a simple explanation for the mechanisms leading to the development of the ion acoustic instability. These waves can be important for separatrix dynamics by heating the cold ion component and providing a mechanism to damp the kinetic Alfvén waves propagating away from the reconnection site.
16 Mar 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 5. 10.1029/2020GL090286