Ion Diffusive Transport Across the Separatrix Between the Low-Latitude Mantle and the Plasma Sheet by Kinetic Alfvén Waves: MMS Observation

Abstract

To understand the entry of the cool low-latitude mantle ions into the tail plasma sheet near the flanks under persistent interplanetary magnetic field B_y, we evaluate the role of the cross-field diffusive transport by kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) by investigating two events observed by multiscale (MMS) spacecraft. Around the separatrix between the open and closed field-line regions, a two-component mixing of hot plasma sheet ions of a few keV with cool mantle ions of a few hundred eV was observed, indicating transport across the separatrix. The waves observed between 0.01 and 10 Hz around the separatrix had characteristics consistent with those of KAWs. The consistency allowed us to estimate the wave vectors as a function of frequency by fitting KAW dispersion to the observations. Using the observed wave powers, plasma moments, and the estimated wave vectors, we computed the cross-field diffusion rates associated with KAWs. The diffusion rates were found to be comparable to or larger than the Bohm diffusion rates during the intervals when the two-component mixing was observed, indicating that the KAW diffusive transport can play a role in the entry of low-latitude mantle ions into the plasma sheet.