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Particle energization and transport in the magnetotail during substorms


April 18, 2014, 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Geology 6704

Presented By:
Qingjiang Pan
UCLA

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An important question regarding the magnetosphere is how charged particles (both electrons and ions) are energized to hundreds of keV energies in the magnetotail during substorms. In this talk, I will first review previously proposed acceleration mechanisms, which can be separated into two types: mechanisms that operate near the reconnection site and mechanisms that occur during plasma earthward transport. Then I will show our results obtained from realistic global MHD/LSK simulations, which are benchmarked by multipoint satellite measurements. The results will be discussed with two emphases: (1) separating and quantifying energization by different processes; (2) comparing electron and ion energization and transport. I will end this talk by discussing implications and future work.