Direct observation of ion cyclotron damping of turbulence in Earth’s magnetosheath plasma

Plasma turbulence plays a key role in space and astrophysical plasma systems, enabling the energy of magnetic fields and plasma flows to be transported to particle kinetic scales at which the turbulence dissipates and heats the plasma. Identifying the physical mechanisms responsible for the dissipation of the turbulent energy is a critical step in developing the predictive capability for the turbulent heating needed by global models. In this work, spacecraft measurements of the electromagnetic fields and ion velocity distributions by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to generate velocity-space signatures that identify ion cyclotron damping in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath, in agreement with analytical modeling. Furthermore, the rate of ion energization is directly quantified and combined with a previous analysis of the electron energization to identify the dominant channels of turbulent dissipation and determine the partitioning of energy among species in this interval.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2024-10-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52125-8
Citations
10
Primary Topic
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.98

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article

Direct observation of ion cyclotron damping of turbulence in Earth’s magnetosheath plasma

A. S. Afshari, Mihailo M. Martinović, J. R. Shuster, D. P. Hartley et al.
10 citations
Nature Communications
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
2.98
article

Direct observation of ion cyclotron damping of turbulence in Earth’s magnetosheath plasma

A. S. Afshari, Mihailo M. Martinović, J. R. Shuster, D. P. Hartley, S. A. Boardsen, Collin R. Brown, G. G. Howes, C. A. Kletzing, Daniel F. McGinnis, K. G. Klein, Rui Huang
article en
10 citations

Abstract

Plasma turbulence plays a key role in space and astrophysical plasma systems, enabling the energy of magnetic fields and plasma flows to be transported to particle kinetic scales at which the turbulence dissipates and heats the plasma. Identifying the physical mechanisms responsible for the dissipation of the turbulent energy is a critical step in developing the predictive capability for the turbulent heating needed by global models. In this work, spacecraft measurements of the electromagnetic fields and ion velocity distributions by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to generate velocity-space signatures that identify ion cyclotron damping in Earth's turbulent magnetosheath, in agreement with analytical modeling. Furthermore, the rate of ion energization is directly quantified and combined with a previous analysis of the electron energization to identify the dominant channels of turbulent dissipation and determine the partitioning of energy among species in this interval.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 15(1)
University of Iowa (US), University of Maryland, Baltimore (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), University of Arizona (US), University of New Hampshire (US), Heliophysics (US)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
2.98
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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