Publication Date:
2002-04-30
Description:
The pitch-angle distributions (PAD) of energetic particles are examined as the ISEE-1 satellite crosses the Earth’s magnetopause near the subsolar point. The investigation focuses on the possible existence of a particular type of distribution that would be associated with a source of energetic particles in the high-latitude magnetosphere. PADs, demonstrating broad, persistent field-aligned fluxes filling a single hemisphere (upper/northern or lower/southern), were observed just sunward of the magnetopause current layer for an extended period of many minutes. These distributions are a direct prediction of a possible source of energetic particles located in the high altitude dayside cusp and we present five examples in detail of the three-dimensional particle distributions to demonstrate their existence. From these results, other possible causes of such PADs are examined.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (energetic particles, precipitating; magnetopause, cusp and boundary layers; magnetospheric configuration and dynamics)
Print ISSN:
0992-7689
Electronic ISSN:
1432-0576
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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