Under previous NSF and NASA support a technique has been developed for inferring the density of ions, the temperature and the pressure in the plasma sheet of Earth's magnetosphere. This project will (1) radically improve the ionosphere-magnetosphere mapping using grad(p) = j x B relationship; (2) expand the remote sensing technique to include (a) in situ measurements and (b) the magnetospheric electric field; (3) study plasma sheet ion sources and transport for northward and southward IMF; (4) investigate plasma sheet ion entry, loss, and filling rates; (5) study the causes of the dawn-dusk asymmetry in the plasma sheet flanks, which could help determine the roles of competing solar wind entry mechanisms; and (6) investigate magnetosheath ion and electron heating.
To carry out the study, data from the ionosphere as well as in situ observations will be combined with 3D plasma equilibrium modeling as well as 2D simulations that include full ion and electron kinetic processes. The project will connect theorists/modelers and observers. In addition, the project will train a summer college student on space physics analysis techniques and scientific programming.
