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Structures in the terms of the Vlasov equation observed at Earth’s magnetopause

Nature Physics volume 17, pages 1056–1065 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

The Vlasov equation describes collisionless plasmas in the continuum limit and applies to many fundamental plasma energization phenomena. Because this equation governs the evolution of plasma in six-dimensional phase space, studies of its structure have mostly been limited to numerical or analytical methods. Here terms of the Vlasov equation are determined from observations of electron phase-space density gradients measured by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft in the vicinity of magnetic reconnection at Earth’s magnetopause. We identify which electrons in velocity space substantially support the electron pressure divergence within electron-scale current layers. Furthermore, we isolate and characterize the effects of density, velocity and temperature gradients on the velocity-space structure and dynamics of these electrons. Unipolar, bipolar and ring structures in the electron phase-space density gradients are compared to a simplified Maxwellian model and correspond to localized gradients in density, velocity and temperature, respectively. These structures have implications for the ability of collisionless plasmas to maintain kinetic Vlasov equilibrium. The results provide a kinetic perspective relevant to how the electron pressure divergence may develop to violate the electron frozen-in condition and sustain electron-scale energy conversion processes, such as the reconnection electric field, in collisionless space plasma environments.

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Fig. 1: Model predictions of ∇fe and v ⋅ ∇fe structures for various plasma gradients.
Fig. 2: MMS observations of unipolar ∇⊥2fe and bipolar v ⋅ ∇fe for a density gradient ∇ne.
Fig. 3: MMS observations of bipolar ∇⊥2fe and quadrupolar v ⋅ ∇fe for a velocity gradient ∇Ue.
Fig. 4: MMS observations of ring-shaped ∇⊥2fe and v ⋅ ∇fe for a temperature gradient ∇Te.
Fig. 5: MMS observations of crescent-shaped ∇⊥2fe and v ⋅ ∇fe for a combination of gradients.

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Data availability

All MMS data are available to the public via https://lasp.colorado.edu/mms/sdc/public/.

Code availability

The code used to plot the MMS gradient distributions will be made available upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We especially thank the MMS instrument teams for their dedication and commitment to providing unprecedented, high-quality datasets. J.R.S. thanks L. Morrison for helpful discussions regarding the intricacies of phase space. This research was supported in part by NASA grants to the Fast Plasma Investigation, FIELDS team and Theory and Modeling programme of the MMS mission. J.R.S. was supported by NASA grants 80NSSC19K1092 and 80NSSC21K0732. S.W. was supported by NASA grant 80NSSC18K1369 and DOE grant DE-SC0020058. P.A.C. was supported by NASA grants NNX16AG76G and 80NSSC19M0146, NSF grants AGS-1602769 and PHY-1804428 and DOE grant DE-SC0020294. R.E.D. was supported by NASA grant 80NSSC19K0254. V.M.U. was supported by NASA grant NNG11PL10A.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA

    J. R. Shuster, S. Wang, N. Bessho, J. Ng & L. A. Avanov

  2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    J. R. Shuster, D. J. Gershman, J. C. Dorelli, B. L. Giles, S. Wang, N. Bessho, L.-J. Chen, V. M. Uritsky, W. R. Paterson, C. Schiff, A. F. Viñas, J. Ng, L. A. Avanov & D. E. da Silva

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Center for KINETIC Plasma Physics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    P. A. Cassak

  4. Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA

    S. J. Schwartz

  5. Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK

    S. J. Schwartz

  6. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA

    R. E. Denton

  7. Department of Physics, Catholic University of America, Washington DC, USA

    V. M. Uritsky & A. F. Viñas

  8. Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD, USA

    D. E. da Silva

  9. Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA

    R. B. Torbert

  10. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA

    R. B. Torbert

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Contributions

J.R.S. performed the MMS multi-spacecraft data analysis, developed the analytical model for comparison to the MMS observations and prepared the manuscript. D.J.G. and J.C.D. assisted with interpretation of the plasma distribution and gradient structures, the use of MMS FPI data, and the preparation of the text and figures. B.L.G. supported the project at both the institutional and mission levels, and helped to ensure the overall quality of the MMS and FPI data. S.W., N.B. and L.-J.C. aided in the interpretation of the kinetic velocity distribution measurements in the context of magnetopause magnetic reconnection observations. P.A.C., S.J.S., R.E.D. and C.S. offered careful critiques of the scientific results, figures and conclusions of the manuscript, and provided useful feedback regarding contextual and relevant literature related to this research. V.M.U. and W.R.P. provided insightful feedback and discussion regarding the data-model comparisons and concerning the overall conclusions and future implications of this research. A.F.V., J.N. and L.A.A. assisted with the overall interpretation of the results. D.E.d.S. offered technical support and data analysis tools that aided in the identification of the MMS events presented in the manuscript. R.B.T. assisted with the interpretation of the electric-field data in comparison to the particle measurements.

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Correspondence to J. R. Shuster.

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Peer review information Nature Physics thanks Jan Egedal and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Shuster, J.R., Gershman, D.J., Dorelli, J.C. et al. Structures in the terms of the Vlasov equation observed at Earth’s magnetopause. Nat. Phys. 17, 1056–1065 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01280-6

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