Electron fluxes in the magnetotail: Statistical study Original Research Article

We present a statistical study of electron flux encounters in the magnetotail with an emphasis on the high-latitude regions. We use the data of the INTERBALL-TAIL project consisting of the INTERBALL-1 and MAGION-4 satellites. The analysis is based on the measurements of VDP-S Faradayʹs cups onboard MAGION-4 during the whole operational period of the satellite (August 95 – September 97). The spatial distributions of electron fluxes are represented by the relative occurrence rate in 1 RE bins. As expected, the fluxes of hot electrons are observed mainly inside and nearby the plasma sheet but they are also encountered along magnetopause boundary layers at high latitudes. Their occurrence rate is shown to depend on the interplanetary magnetic field orientation. This leads to several inferences concerning the reconnection effects on the magnetospheric boundaries.