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THEMIS was launched on February 17, 2007 to determine the trigger and large-scale evolution of substorms. During the first seven months of the mission the five satellites coasted near their injection orbit to avoid differential precession in anticipation of orbit placement, which started in September 2007 and led to a commencement of the baseline mission in December 2007. During the coast phase the probes were put into a string-of-pearls configuration at 100 s of km to 2 R E along-track separations, which provided a unique view of the magnetosphere and enabled an unprecedented dataset in anticipation of the first tail season. In this paper we describe the first THEMIS substorm observations, captured during instrument commissioning on March 23, 2007. THEMIS measured the rapid expansion of the plasma sheet at a speed that is commensurate with the simultaneous expansion of the auroras on the ground. These are the first unequivocal observations of the rapid westward expansion process in space and on the ground. Aided by the remote sensing technique at energetic particle boundaries and combined with ancillary measurements and MHD simulations, they allow determination and mapping of space currents. These measurements show the power of the THEMIS instrumentation in the tail and the radiation belts. We also present THEMIS Flux Transfer Events (FTE) observations at the magnetopause, which demonstrate the importance of multi-point observations there and the quality of the THEMIS instrumentation in that region of space.

We discuss results of a superposed epoch analysis of dipolarization fronts, rapid (δt < 30 s), high‐amplitude (δBz > 10 nT) increases in the northward magnetic field component, observed during six Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) conjunction events. All six fronts propagated earthward; time delays at multiple probes were used to determine their propagation velocity. We define typical magnetic and electric field and plasma parameter variations during dipolarization front crossings and estimate their characteristic gradient scales. The study reveals (1) a rapid 50% decrease in plasma density and ion pressure, (2) a factor of 2–3 increase in high‐energy (30–200 keV) electron flux and electron temperature, and (3) transient enhancements of ∼5 mV/m in duskward and earthward electric field components. Gradient scales of magnetic field, plasma density, and particle flux were found to be comparable to the ion thermal gyroradius. Current densities associated with the Bz increase are, on average, 20 nA/m2, 5–7 times larger than the current density in the cross‐tail current sheet. Because j · E > 0, the dipolarization fronts are kinetic‐scale dissipative regions with Joule heating rates of 10% of the total bursty bulk flow energy. Key Points Superposed epoch analysis of THEMIS dipolarization front events Common pattern in field and particle variations during front crossings Particle energization and energetic plasma transport

We report THEMIS observations of a dipolarization front, a sharp, large‐amplitude increase in the Z‐component of the magnetic field. The front was detected in the central plasma sheet sequentially at X = −20.1 RE (THEMIS P1 probe), at X = −16.7 RE (P2), and at X = −11.0 RE (P3/P4 pair), suggesting its earthward propagation as a coherent structure over a distance more than 10 RE at a velocity of 300 km/s. The front thickness was found to be as small as the ion inertial length. Comparison with simulations allows us to interpret the front as the leading edge of a plasma fast flow formed by a burst of magnetic reconnection in the midtail.

The near lunar surface contains small‐scale magnetic field structures that provide a natural test bed for observing plasmas with a non‐zero Hall electric field, as well as potentially facilitating electron‐only reconnection. This study presents observational evidence of magnetized electrons as well as demagnetized ions when THEMIS‐ARTEMIS probe B reached an altitude of ∼15 km above the lunar surface. Additionally, observations suggest the presence of a field line topology change and traversal of a closed magnetic field structure containing solar wind electrons, suggestive of magnetic reconnection having occurred at some point between the solar wind interplanetary magnetic field and a lunar crustal magnetic field. Thus, the observations presented here are consistent with previous studies that predict prominent Hall electric fields near lunar crustal magnetic fields and further suggest that the solar wind interplanetary magnetic field may reconnect with lunar crustal magnetic fields, most likely via electron‐only reconnection. Plain Language Summary While interactions between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere have been well studied, there is still much to be learned by studying the interactions between the solar wind and the small‐scale lunar magnetic fields. Due to the small‐scale nature of the lunar magnetic fields, previous studies have suggested that the ions do not respond in the same manner as the electrons. The resulting effects lead to an electric field near regions of lunar magnetic fields. This study presents observational evidence of the aforementioned phenomena. Additionally, the spacecraft observations also suggest that magnetic reconnection, or the breaking of the lunar magnetic field lines and reconnection to the magnetic field in the solar wind, was occurring between the solar wind and the lunar magnetic fields. Key Points Observations suggest magnetic reconnection occurs between the solar wind IMF and lunar crustal magnetic fields Electron pitch angle and velocity distributions suggest the spacecraft traversed a closed magnetic topology containing solar wind electrons We report in‐situ observations of demagnetized ions and associated Hall electric fields near the lunar surface

A long-standing problem in the field of space physics has been the origin of plasmaspheric hiss, a naturally occurring electromagnetic wave in the high-density plasmasphere (roughly within 20,000 kilometers of Earth) that is known to remove the high-energy Van Allen Belt electrons that pose a threat to satellites and astronauts. A recent theory tied the origin of plasmaspheric hiss to a seemingly different wave in the outer magnetosphere, but this theory was difficult to test because of a challenging set of observational requirements. Here we report on the experimental verification of the theory, made with a five-satellite NASA mission. This confirmation will allow modeling of plasmaspheric hiss and its effects on the high-energy radiation environment.

Pulsating aurora, a spectacular emission that appears as blinking of the upper atmosphere in the polar regions, is known to be excited by modulated, downward-streaming electrons. Despite its distinctive feature, identifying the driver of the electron precipitation has been a long-standing problem. Using coordinated satellite and ground-based all-sky imager observations from the THEMIS mission, we provide direct evidence that a naturally occurring electromagnetic wave, lower-band chorus, can drive pulsating aurora. Because the waves at a given equatorial location in space correlate with a single pulsating auroral patch in the upper atmosphere, our findings can also be used to constrain magnetic field models with much higher accuracy than has previously been possible.

We report observations from the THEMIS spacecraft characterizing the nature and importance of low frequency electromagnetic fluctuations on kinetic scales embedded within fast flows in the Earth's plasma sheet. A consideration of wave property variations with frequency and flow speed suggest that for spacecraft frame frequencies satisfying |vf|/ñi ≤ ùsc ≤ 100|vf|/ñi (or 0.2 ≲ fsc ≲ 20 Hz) these fluctuations can generally be described as kinetic Alfvén waves. Here vf is the flow speed, ñi the ion gyroradius, and ùsc and fsc are the angular and cyclical frequencies respectively in the spacecraft frame. The statistics of energy transport via Poynting flux (S) in these fluctuations and ion energy flux (å) in the flow follow log normal distributions with mean values of 〈S〉 = 101.1 ± 0.7 and 〈ε〉 = 102.4 ± 0.4 mW/m2 respectively where the values are ‘mapped’ to a reference magnetic field at 100 km altitude. Here the indices following ‘ ± ’ correspond to one standard deviation. We find that 〈S/ε〉 = 10−1.3 ± 0.7 or that kinetic Alfvén waves on average transport ∼5% of the total energy transport in the flow but note that the values larger than 25% are within one standard deviation of the mean. Our observations show that these waves are continually radiated outward from the flow toward the auroral oval, low latitude boundary layer or lobes and that over several Earth‐radii the integrated energy loss from the flow channel can be comparable to the total energy content of the flow itself. We find that this plasma sheet energy loss process is particularly effective within |XGSE| ≤ 15 RE. Key Points Kinetic‐scale waves carry large fractions of tail energy Kinetic scale waves are radiated from plasma sheet flows ULF/ELF em fluctuations in fast flows suggestive of kinetic Alfven waves

Observations of three closely‐spaced THEMIS spacecraft at 9–11 Re near midnight and close to the neutral sheet are used to investigate a sharp injection/dipolarization front (SDF) propagating inward in the flow‐braking region. This SDF was a very thin current sheet along the North‐South direction embedded within an Earthward‐propagating flow burst. A short‐lived depression of the total magnetic field (down to 1 nT), devoid of wave activity and intense particle fluxes, stays ahead of the SDF. Clear finite proton gyroradius effects, which help visualize the geometry and sub‐gyroscale of the SDF, are seen centered at the thin current sheet. The SDF nearly coincides with the narrow interface between plasmas of different densities and temperatures. At that interface, we observed strong (40–60 mV/m peak) E‐field bursts of the lower‐hybrid time scale that are confined to a localized region of density depletions. This sharp dipolarization/injection front propagating in the flow‐braking region appears to be a complicated kinetic‐scale plasma structure that combines a number of small‐scale elements (Bz drops, thin current sheets, LH cavities, injection fronts) previously discussed as separate objects.

Chorus waves, which have received intense attention recently due to their significant role in radiation belt electron dynamics, frequently exhibit rising and falling tones. Lower‐band chorus waves, observed using THEMIS wave burst data, are analyzed to obtain the typical properties of either class of chorus emissions. Our results show that rising tones are more likely to be quasi field‐aligned, whereas falling tones are typically very oblique, close to the resonance cone. Furthermore, rising tones occur significantly more often than falling tones, and magnetic amplitudes of rising tones are generally much larger than those of falling tones. We also show the preferential regions of rising and falling tones dependent on MLT and magnetic latitude. Our new findings suggest that two separate mechanisms may be responsible for the generation and nonlinear evolution of rising and falling tone chorus. Key Points Rising tones are quasi field‐aligned, while falling tones are very oblique Wave amplitude of rising tones are larger than that of falling tones The preferential region of rising and falling tones is dependent on MLT and MLAT

A multievent study was performed using conjugate measurements of the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft and an all‐sky imager during periods of intense lower‐band chorus waves. The thirteen identified cases support our previous finding, based on two events, that the intensity modulation of lower‐band chorus near the magnetic equator is highly correlated with quasiperiodic pulsating auroral emissions near the spacecraft's magnetic footprint, indicating that lower‐band chorus is the driver of the pulsating aurora. Furthermore, we identified a fortuitous measurement made simultaneously by two THEMIS spacecraft with small spatial separation. The two spacecraft were found to be located in a single pulsating chorus patch and the spacecraft footprints were in the same pulsating auroral patch when intense chorus bursts were measured simultaneously, whereas only one of the spacecraft's footprints was in a patch when the other spacecraft did not detect intense chorus. On the basis of this event, we can estimate the pulsating chorus patch size by mapping the pulsating auroral patches from the ionosphere toward the magnetic equator, giving a roughly circular region of ∼5000 km diameter for corresponding azimuthally elongated patches with ∼100 km size in the ionosphere. Using a ray‐tracing‐based calculation of the divergence of chorus raypaths from a point source, together with the corresponding resonant energies, we found that the chorus patch size is most probably not a result of ray divergence but a property of the wave excitation region. Key Points The driver of pulsating aurora is identified as lower‐band chorus The magnetic footprint is determined independent of the magnetic field model A coherent chorus burst size is determined using two spacecraft and imager