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Petrinec & Fuselier 2003
Petrinec, S.M. and Fuselier, S.A. (2003). On continuous versus discontinuous neutral lines at the dayside magnetopause for southward interplanetary magnetic field. Geophysical Research Letters 30: doi: 10.1029/2002GL016565. issn: 0094-8276.

During intervals of southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), it is thought that magnetic reconnection occurs along an extended region of the dayside magnetopause. The reconnected magnetic field lines are believed to transport solar wind plasma into the magnetosphere and into the high-latitude ionosphere. The precipitation pattern therefore provides information on the location and extent of reconnection at the magnetopause. This study uses observations of the energy and local time distribution of energetic proton precipitation into the dayside ionosphere during periods of southward IMF from the Far UltraViolet (FUV) imager on board the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft. These precipitation patterns suggest that the magnetic neutral line can be discontinuous across the dayside magnetopause.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Magnetospheric Physics, Magnetopause, cusp, and boundary layers, Magnetospheric Physics, Magnetosphere/ionosphere interactions, Magnetospheric Physics, Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics, Magnetospheric Physics, Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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