Plasma convection in the low-latitude mantle of the near-earth magnetosphere Original Research Article

A detailed analysis of Geotail observations on June 1, 1997 provides evidence for the appearance of the plasma mantle at low-latitudes, ZGSM ∼3 RE for southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), and clarifies the characteristics of the plasma flow in the low-latitude mantle. The tailward flow speed in the mantle is 80 ∼ 160 km/s, smaller than the flow speed (≳300 km/s) in the adjacent magnetosheath. The component of the velocity perpendicular to the magnetic field lines is predominantly poleward at speeds up to 60 km/s, and the convection tends to be stronger for |;BY|<|;BZ| than for IMF |BY|>|BZ|;. This polewardconvection can be interpreted as being driven by a J × B force operating on the field lines.