A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Direct observations of a surface eigenmode of the dayside magnetopause
Authors: Archer MO, Hietala H, Hartinger MD, Plaschke F, Angelopoulos V
Publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
Publication year: 2019
Journal: Nature Communications
Journal name in source: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Journal acronym: NAT COMMUN
Article number: ARTN 615
Volume: 10
Number of pages: 11
ISSN: 2041-1723
eISSN: 2041-1723
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-08134-5
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/39675519
The abrupt boundary between a magnetosphere and the surrounding plasma, the magnetopause, has long been known to support surface waves. It was proposed that impulses acting on the boundary might lead to a trapping of these waves on the dayside by the ionosphere, resulting in a standing wave or eigenmode of the magnetopause surface. No direct observational evidence of this has been found to date and searches for indirect evidence have proved inconclusive, leading to speculation that this mechanism might not occur. By using fortuitous multipoint spacecraft observations during a rare isolated fast plasma jet impinging on the boundary, here we show that the resulting magnetopause motion and magnetospheric ultra-low frequency waves at well-defined frequencies are in agreement with and can only be explained by the magnetopause surface eigenmode. We therefore show through direct observations that this mechanism, which should impact upon the magnetospheric system globally, does in fact occur.
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