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Detailed Reference Information |
Stiles, G.S., Hones, E.W., Bame, S.J. and Asbridge, J.R. (1978). Plasma sheet pressure anisotropies. Journal of Geophysical Research 83: doi: 10.1029/JA083iA07p03166. issn: 0148-0227. |
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The ecliptic plane components of the pressure tensors for low-energy (∥) being as much as 1.5-2.0 times the pressure perpendicular (P⊥), the anisotropies are not usually of this magnitude and are typically below the value thought necessary to balance the tension of the magnetic field. One-hour averages of the particle counts have also been calculated. While these averages mask more rapid changes due to variations in the distributions and the magnetic field and can yield only a lower limit to the true anisotropy, examinations of the individual measurements indicate that they do provide a reasonable summary. On this time scale, the protons are nearly isotropic: the ratio of the maximum ecliptic component of the proton pressure tensor to the minimum is typically ≲1.1, and there is no apparent tendency for the distributions to be field aligned. On the same time scale, the electron distributions do show a tendency to be field aligned with P∥/P⊥?1.2 approximately 25% of the time. Due to the low energy density of the electrons, however, this anisotropy is not itself sufficient to balance the tension of the magnetic field. |
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American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009-1277 USA 1-202-462-6900 1-202-328-0566 service@agu.org |
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