A case study of the cusp electrodynamics by the Aureol‐3 satellite: Evidence for FTE signatures?

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Particle and field data from a pass of the AUREOL‐3 satellite through the polar cusp, several minutes after the southward turning of the IMF, are analyzed in detail. Superposed on the classical cusp, characterized by the typical ion and electron precipitations, several very narrow arcs are detected where large fluxes of electrons and ions, accelerated to 2–4 keV, precipitate simultaneously. These localized arcs correspond to the upward current sheets of a succession in latitude of narrow, alternatively upward and downward field‐aligned current sheets. The data suggest that the satellite has crossed the ionospheric footprints of 2 adjacent flux transfer events separated by 100–150 km in latitude. Electric spikes and electromagnetic turbulence are typically associated with the region of downward currents.