Skip to main content

EDITORIAL article

Front. Astron. Space Sci., 30 October 2020
Sec. Space Physics
This article is part of the Research Topic Improving the Understanding of Kinetic Processes in Solar Wind and Magnetosphere: From CLUSTER to MMS View all 10 articles

Editorial: Improving the Understanding of Kinetic Processes in Solar Wind and Magnetosphere: From CLUSTER to Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

  • 1Dipartimento di Fisica, Università Della Calabria, Rende, Italy
  • 2ASI—Italian Space Agency, Rome, Italy
  • 3IRAP—Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France
  • 4Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States

The most common matter state in the Universe is plasma (Krall and Trivelpiece, 1986). In the Heliosphere, these plasmas are almost collisionless, magnetized, and quasi-neutral and can mimic a large number of astrophysical plasmas that can only be observed remotely, e.g., the interstellar medium, astrophysical shocks and jets, accretion disks, cluster of galaxies etc.

Single-point space missions have described many properties of near-Earth and heliospheric plasmas by using both in situ measurements and remote sensing observations. From the first observations by the Mariner mission of turbulent solar wind flow (Neugebauer and Snyder, 1966; Neugebauer and Snyder, 1967), and the first computing of power spectra of alfvénic fluctuations (Coleman, 1968), or pioneering observations of large-scale magnetic structures (Burlaga et al., 1977) from the Explorer 43 mission, both making single space observations, the community has advanced a lot in knowledge of plasma phenomena.

However, analyses of space plasma using in situ data from single spacecraft suffer from a spatio-temporal ambiguity, viz., the difficulty of disentangling temporal and spatial variations. This issue is acute for magnetofluid turbulence in the solar wind where it is very difficult to deduce the three-dimensional properties of the turbulent fluctuations from single spacecraft data (Goldstein et al., 2015). A full and realistic description of our plasma environment requires measurements able to determine the three-dimensional, time-dependent features observed in this turbulent system. Indeed, only multi-spacecraft observations are able to exhibit a connection between space and time: the same physical observables are measured not only at different points in space but also at different instants in time. Cluster was the first mission (Escoubet et al., 1997; Escoubet et al., 2001), and until data began to flow from the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS), it was the only mission designed to describe the three-dimensional structure of plasma phenomena in geospace. To achieve this, Cluster, launched in the summer of 2000 and currently still in operation, consists of four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral configuration, thereby making it possible to distinguish between spatial and temporal variations.

Beyond detailed analysis of the electromagnetic field and plasma characteristics, thanks to the robust experiments on board the four spacecraft, the goal of the Cluster mission has been to exploit multi-point observations to compute spatial gradients. The curlometer analysis technique (Dunlop et al., 1988; Dunlop et al., 2002a; Dunlop and Eastwood, 2008) allows a direct estimation of the total current density from ×B, using high-resolution magnetic field measurements. The same technique can be applied to velocity field measurements, i.e., ×V, to resolve flow vorticity (Chanteur, 1998; Harvey, 1998). Therefore, Cluster has contributed to determine currents and vorticity in various regions of the Earth’s magnetosphere (Dunlop et al., 2016), such as in the magnetotail (see, e.g., Runov et al., 2006; Nakamura et al., 2008; Shen et al., 2008; Narita et al., 2013), in the magnetopause (see, e.g., Dunlop and Balogh, 2005; Panov et al., 2006), in the inner magnetosphere (see, e.g., Vallat et al., 2005; Shen et al., 2014), as well as in the solar wind (see, e.g., Eastwood et al., 2002; Gurgiolo et al., 2010).

Four-spacecraft measurements have been also used to estimate the normal and the speed of a discontinuity (Russell et al., 1983; Dunlop et al., 2002b), by using the so-called timing method. Recently, the timing method has been used to study structures at ion scales in the solar wind turbulence (Perrone et al., 2016; Perrone et al., 2017). Further, measurements from the four satellites, in the appropriate configuration, have allowed to calculate the dispersion relation of several waves ubiquitous in the geospace environment (Narita et al., 2003; Narita and Glassmeier, 2005) by using the wave telescope or k-filtering technique (Pinçon and Lefeuvre, 1991; Motschmann et al., 1996; Glassmeier et al., 2001; Glassmeier, 2003).

Cluster observations have been also used to study turbulence of the plasma which surrounds our local geospace environment. In particular, turbulence correlation scales have been estimated in both Earth’s plasmasheet (Vörös et al., 2005; Weygand et al., 2005) and solar wind (Matthaeus et al., 2005; Weygand et al., 2007). Moreover, for the first time, it has been possible to describe the three-dimensional properties of the inertial range of interplanetary turbulence at ion scales (Narita et al., 2011a; Narita et al., 2011b), where intermittency starts to manifest itself. Further, thanks to high-resolution magnetic field data, Cluster has allowed to study turbulence toward electron scales in the solar wind (Alexandrova et al., 2009; Sahraoui et al., 2009), where dissipation should take place.

Finally, Cluster data have elucidated aspects of reconnection that occurs in the solar wind, magnetosheath, and magnetosphere. For example, multi-point measurements allowed to unambiguously determine the characteristics of the near-Earth’s reconnection line on the ion scale (Runov et al., 2003), and to lead to a significant progress in understanding the microphysics of this processes, revealing the subsequent both adiabatic and non-adiabatic particle energization (Retinò et al., 2007; Sundkvist et al., 2007).

In March of 2015, the MMS, consisting of four identical spacecraft, similar to Cluster, was launched, providing multi-point measurements in near-Earth space (Burch et al., 2016a). The spacecraft are flying at significantly smaller separations, down to 5 km, while the instruments are providing high-time resolution plasma data, as well as three-dimensional electric field measurements, allowing for an unprecedented investigation of kinetic processes. The MMS instruments are able directly to observe the electron diffusion region at the Earth’s magnetopause and magnetotail, thus adding critical insight into the physics of magnetic reconnection (Burch et al., 2016b; Torbert et al., 2018). MMS observations enabled the study of the statistical properties of turbulence and the associated energy cascade in near-Earth space from the inertial range down to proton and electron scales (Bandyopadhyay et al., 2018; Chhiber et al., 2018). Intermittent structures at kinetic scales have been identified, revealing the existence of electron-scale current sheets, similar to what was previously observed at ion scales (Greco et al., 2016; Yordanova et al., 2016). Furthermore, MMS makes it possible to resolve electron-scale regions of active magnetic reconnection, while more recent studies have investigated their role in kinetic-scale turbulence (Phan et al., 2018; Stawarz et al., 2019), providing new insight into the dissipative processes at kinetic scales. The novel measurements lead to the developments of new techniques that examine the complex structure of the plasma velocity distribution functions, shedding a new light into the kinetic physics behind turbulent dissipation (Servidio et al., 2017).

The main motivation in organizing this special issue in Frontiers of Astronomy and Space Sciences, twenty years after the first multi-point observations, is to give an overview of the achievements in the understanding of kinetic processes in both the Earth’s magnetosphere and the solar wind as well as to present the current efforts of the scientific community in this field. This special issue collects mainly papers on observations in turbulent space plasmas. Contributions from numerical studies are also present to support the observational evidences and improve the understanding of turbulent collisionless plasmas.

Author Contributions

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication. In detail, AG wrote the initial draft. DP added several paragraphs. BL gave comments, and AC took the final look.

Funding

AC was supported in part by the NASA MMS project, and the NASA Grant No. 80NSSC19K1469.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge all the contributors to this research topic. The authors would like to thank the Cluster experiment teams for making available their data and recognize the tremendous effort in developing and operating the MMS spacecraft and instruments.

References

Alexandrova, O., Saur, J., Lacombe, C., Mangeney, A, Mitchell, J, Schwartz, S. J., et al. (2009). Universality of solar-wind turbulent spectrum from MHD to electron scales. Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 (16), 165003. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.165003

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bandyopadhyay, R., Chasapis, A., Chhiber, R., Parashar, T. N., Matthaeus, W. H., Shay, M. A., et al. (2018). Incompressive energy transfer in the earth’s magnetosheath: magnetospheric multiscale observations. Astrophys. J. 866, 106. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aade04

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Burch, J. L., Moore, T. E., Torbert, R. B., and Giles, B. L. (2016a). Magnetospheric multiscale overview and science objectives. Space Sci. Rev. 199, 5–21. doi:10.1007/s11214-015-0164-9

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Burch, J. L., Torbert, R. B., Phan, T. D., Chen, L.-J., Moore, T. E., Ergun, R. E., et al. (2016b). Electron-scale measurements of magnetic reconnection in space. Science 352 (6290), aaf2939. doi:10.1126/science.aaf2939

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Burlaga, L. F., Lemaire, J. F., and Turner, J. M. (1977). Interplanetary current sheets at 1 AU. J. Geophys. Res. 82 (22), 3191–3200. doi:10.1029/JA082i022p03191

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Chanteur, G. (1998). “Spatial interpolation for four spacecraft: theory,” in Analysis methods for multi-spacecraft data. Editors G. Paschmann, and P. W. Daly. ISSI Scientific Reports Series, (Bern: ESA/ISSI), Chap. 14, Vol. 1, 371–394, ISBN 1608-280X.

Google Scholar

Chhiber, R., Chasapis, A., and Bandyopadhyay, R. (2018). Higher-order turbulence statistics in the earth’s magnetosheath and the solar wind using magnetospheric multiscale observations. J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 123 (12), 9941–9954. doi:10.1029/2018JA025768

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Coleman, P. J. (1968). Turbulence, viscosity, and dissipation in the solar-wind plasma. Astrophys. J. 153, 371–388. doi:10.1086/149674

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dunlop, M. W., Balogh, A., Glassmeier, K.-H., and Robert, P. (2002a). Four-point Cluster application of magnetic field analysis tools: the curlometer. J. Geophys. Res. 107 (A11), 1384. doi:10.1029/2001JA005088

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dunlop, M. W., Balogh, A., and Glassmeier, K.-H. (2002b). Four-point Cluster application of magnetic field analysis tools: the discontinuity analyzer. J. Geophys. Res. 107 (A11), 1385. doi:10.1029/2001JA005089

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dunlop, M. W., and Balogh, A. (2005). Magnetopause current as seen by Cluster. Ann. Geophys. 23 (3), 901–907. doi:10.5194/angeo-23-901-2005

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dunlop, M. W., and Eastwood, J. P. (2008). “The curlometer and other gradient based methods,” in Multi-spacecraft analysis methods revisited. Editors G. Paschmann, and P. W. Daly. ISSI Scientific Reports Series, (ESA/ISSI), 17–26, ISBN 987-92-9221-937-6.

Google Scholar

Dunlop, M. W., Haaland, S., Escoubet, P.-C., and Dong, X.-C. (2016). Commentary on accessing 3-D currents in space: experiences from Cluster. J. Geophys. Res. 121, 7881–7886. doi:10.1002/2016JA022668

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dunlop, M. W., Southwood, D. J., Glassmeier, K.-H., and Neubauer, F. M. (1988). Analysis of multipoint magnetometer data. Adv. Space Res. 8 (9–10), 273–277. doi:10.1016/0273-1177(88)90141-X

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dunlop, M. W., Yang, J.-Y., Yang, Y.-Y., Xiong, C., Lühr, H., Bogdanova, Y. V., et al. (2015). Simultaneous field-aligned currents at Swarm and Cluster satellites. Geophys. Res. Lett. 42 (10), 3683–3691. doi:10.1002/2015GL063738

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Eastwood, J. P., Balogh, A., Dunlop, M. W., and Smith, C. W. (2002). Cluster observations of the heliospheric current sheet and an associated magnetic flux rope and comparisons with ACE. J. Geophys. Res. 107 (A11), 1365. doi:10.1029/2001JA009158

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Escoubet, C. P., Fehringer, M., and Goldstein, M. (2001). Introduction: the cluster mission. Ann. Geophys. 19, 1197–1200. doi:10.5194/angeo-19-1197-2001

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Escoubet, C. P., Schmidt, R., and Goldstein, M. L. (1997). Cluster–science and mission overview. Space Sci. Rev. 79, 11–32. doi:10.1023/A:1004923124586

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Forsyth, C., Lester, M., Cowley, S. W. H., Dandouras, I., Fazakerley, A. N., Fear, R. C., et al. (2008). Observed tail current systems associated with bursty bulk flows and auroral streamers during a period of multiple substorms. Ann. Geophys. 26 (1), 167–184. doi:10.5194/angeo-26-167-2008

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Glassmeier, K.-H. (2003). Correction to ‘Cluster as a wave telescope-first results from the fluxgate magnetometer. Ann. Geophys. (21), 1071.

Google Scholar

Glassmeier, K.-H., Motschmann, U., Dunlop, M., Balogh, A., Acuña, M. H., Carr, C., et al. (2001). Cluster as a wave telescope-first results from the fluxgate magnetometer. Ann. Geophys. 19 (10), 1439–1447. doi:10.5194/angeo-19-1439-2001

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Goldstein, M.-L., Escoubet, P., Hwanh, K.-J., Wendel, D. E., Viñas, A.-F., Fung, S. F., et al. (2015). Multipoint observations of plasma phenomena made in space by Cluster. J. Plasma Phys. 81 (2), 325810301. doi:10.1017/S0022377815000185

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Greco, A., Perri, S., Servidio, S., Yordanova, E., and Veltri, P. (2016). The complex structure of magnetic field discontinuities in the turbulent solar wind. Astrophys. J. Lett. 823 (2), L39. doi:10.3847/2041-8205/823/2/L39

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Gurgiolo, C., Goldstein, M. L., Viñas, A. F., and Fazakerley, A. N. (2010). First measurements of electron vorticity in the foreshock and solar wind. Ann. Geophys. 28 (12), 2187–2200. doi:10.5194/angeo-28-2187-2010

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Harvey, C. C. (1998). “Spatial gradients and the volumetric tensor,” in Analysis methods for multi-spacecraft data. Editors G. Paschmann, and P. W. Daly (Bern), Chap. 12, 307–322. ISSI Scientific Report SR-001.

Google Scholar

Krall, N. A., and Trivelpiece, A. W. (1986). Principles of plasma physics. San Francisco Press.

Google Scholar

Matthaeus, W. H., Dasso, S., Weygand, J. M., Milano, L. J., Smith, C. W., and Kivelson, M. G. (2005). Spatial correlation of solar-wind turbulence from two-point measurements. Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 (23), 231101. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.231101

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Motschmann, U., Woodward, T. I., Glassmeier, K. H., Southwood, D. J., and Pinçon, J. L. (1996). Wavelength and direction filtering by magnetic measurements at satellite arrays: generalized minimum variance analysis. J. Geophys. Res. 101 (A3), 4961. doi:10.1029/95JA03471

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Nakamura, R., Baumjohann, W., Fujimoto, M., Asano, Y., Runov, A., Owen, C. J., et al. (2008). Cluster observations of an ion-scale current sheet in the magnetotail under the presence of a guide field. J. Geophys. Res. 113 (A7), A07S16. doi:10.1029/2007JA012760

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Narita, Y., and Glassmeier, K.-H. (2005). Dispersion analysis of low-frequency waves through the terrestrial bow shock. J. Geophys. Res. 110 (A12), A12215. doi:10.1029/2005JA011256

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Narita, Y., Glassmeier, K.-H., Goldstein, M. L., Motschmann, U., and Sahraoui, F. (2011a). Three-dimensional spatial structures of solar wind turbulence from 10 000-km to 100-km scales. Ann. Geophys. 29 (10), 1731–1738. doi:10.5194/angeo-29-1731-2011

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Narita, Y., Glassmeier, K.-H., Sahraoui, F., and Goldstein, M. L. (2011b). Wave-vector dependence of magnetic-turbulence spectra in the solar wind. Phys. Rev. Lett. 104 (17), 171101. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.171101

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Narita, Y., Glassmeier, K.-H., Schäfer, S., Motschmann, U., Sauer, K., Dandouras, I., et al. (2003). Dispersion analysis of ULF waves in the foreshock using Cluster data and the wave telescope technique. Geophys. Res. Lett. 30 (13), 1710. doi:10.1029/2003GL017432

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Narita, Y., Nakamura, R., and Baumjohann, W. (2013). Cluster as current sheet surveyor in the magnetotail. Ann. Geophys. 31, 1605–1610. doi:10.5194/angeo-31-1605-2013

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Neugebauer, M., and Snyder, C. W. (1966). Mariner 2 observations of the solar wind: 1. average properties. J. Geophys. Res. 71, 4469–4484. doi:10.1029/JZ071i019p04469

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Neugebauer, M., and Snyder, C. W. (1967). Mariner 2 observations of the solar wind: 2. relation of plasma properties to the magnetic field. J. Geophys. Res. 72, 1823–1828. doi:10.1029/JZ072i007p01823

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Panov, E., Büchner, J., Fränz, M., Korth, A., Khotyaintsev, Y., Nikutowski, B., et al. (2006). CLUSTER spacecraft observation of a thin current sheet at the Earth’s magnetopause. Adv. Space Res. 37 (7), 1363–1372. doi:10.1029/2006GL026556

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Perrone, D., Alexandrova, O., Mangeney, A., Maksimovic, M., Lacombe, C., Rakoto, V., et al. (2016). Compressive coherent structures at ion scales in the slow solar wind. Astrophys. J. 826, 196. doi:10.3847/0004-637X/826/2/196

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Perrone, D., Alexandrova, O., Roberts, O. W., Lion, S., Lacombe, C., Walsh, A., et al. (2017). Coherent structures at ion scales in fast solar wind: cluster observations. Astrophys. J. 849, 49. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa9022

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Phan, T. D., Eastwood, J. P., Shay, M. A., Drake, J. F., Sonnerup, B. U. Ö., Fujimoto, M., et al. (2018). Electron magnetic reconnection without ion coupling in Earth’s turbulent magnetosheath. Nature 557, 202–206. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0091-5

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Pinçon, J. L., and Lefeuvre, F. (1991). Local characterization of homogeneous turbulence in a space plasma from simultaneous measurements of field components at several points in space. J. Geophys. Res. 96 (1), 1789–1802. doi:10.1029/90JA02183

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Retinò, A., Sundkvist, D., Vaivads, A., Mozer, F., André, M., and Owen, C. J. (2007). In situ evidence of magnetic reconnection in turbulent plasma. Nature Phys. 3 (4), 236–238. doi:10.1038/nphys574

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Runov, A., Nakamura, R., Baumjohann, W., Treumann, R. A., Zhang, T. L., Volwerk, M., et al. (2003). Current sheet structure near magnetic X-line observed by Cluster. Geophys. Res. Lett. 30 (11), 1579. doi:10.1029/2002GL016730

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Runov, A., Nakamura, R., and Baumjohann, W. (2006). Multi-point study of the magnetotail current sheet. Adv. Space Res. 38 (1), 85–92. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2004.09.024

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Russell, C. T., Mellott, M. M., Smith, E. J., and King, J. H. (1983). Multiple spacecraft observations of interplanetary shocks: four spacecraft determination of shock normals. J. Geophys. Res. 88 (A6), 4739. doi:10.1029/JA088iA06p04739

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Sahraoui, F., Goldstein, M. L., Robert, P., and Khotyaintsev, Yu. V. (2009). Evidence of a cascade and dissipation of solar-wind turbulence at the electron gyroscale. Phys. Rev. Lett. 102 (23), 231102. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.231102

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Servidio, S., Chasapis, A., Matthaeus, W. H., Perrone, D., Valentini, F., Parashar, T. N., et al. (2017). Magnetospheric multiscale observation of plasma velocity-space cascade: hermite representation and theory. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 (20), 205101. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.205101

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Shen, C., Rong, Z. J., Li, X., Dunlop, M., Liu, Z. X., Malova, H. V., et al. (2008). Magnetic configurations of the tilted current sheets in magnetotail. Ann. Geophys. 26 (11), 3525. doi:10.5194/angeo-26-3525-2008

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Shen, C., Yang, Y. Y., Rong, Z. J., Li, X., Dunlop, M., Carr, C. M., et al. (2014). Direct calculation of the ring current distribution and magnetic structure seen by Cluster during geomagnetic storms. J. Geophys. Res. 119 (4), 2458. doi:10.1002/2013JA019460

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Shi, J. K., Cheng, Z. W., Zhang, T. L., Dunlop, M., Liu, Z. X., Torkar, K., et al. (2010). South-north asymmetry of field-aligned currents in the magnetotail observed by Cluster. J. Geophys. Res. 115 (A7), A07228. doi:10.1029/2009JA014446

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Stawarz, J. E., Eastwood, J. P., Phan, T. D., Gingell, I. L., Shay, M. A., Burch, J. L., et al. (2019). Properties of the turbulence associated with electron-only magnetic reconnection in earth’s magnetosheath. Astrophys. J. Lett. 877 (2), L37. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab21c8

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Sundkvist, D., Retinò, A., Vaivads, A., and Bale, S. D. (2007). Dissipation in turbulent plasma due to reconnection in thin current sheets. Phys. Rev. Lett. 99 (2), 025004. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.025004

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Torbert, R. B., Burch, J. L., Phan, T. D., Hesse, M., Argall, M. R., Shuster, J., et al. (2018). Electron-scale dynamics of the diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection in space. Science 362 (6421), 1391–1395. doi:10.1126/science.aat2998

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Turner, A. J., Gogoberidze, G., Chapman, S. C., Hnat, B., and Müller, W.-C. (2011). Nonaxisymmetric anisotropy of solar wind turbulence. Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 (9), 095002. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.095002

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vörös, Z., Baumjohann, W., Nakamura, R., Runov, A., Volwerk, M., Schwarzl, H., et al. (2005). Dissipation scales in the earth’s plasma sheet estimated from Cluster measurements. Nonlinear Process. Geophys. 12, 725–732. doi:10.5194/npg-12-725-2005

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vallat, C., Dandouras, I., Dunlop, M., Balogh, A., Lucek, E., Parks, G. K., et al. (2005). First current density measurements in the ring current region using simultaneous multi-spacecraft CLUSTER-FGM data. Ann. Geophys. 23, 1849–1865. doi:10.5194/angeo-23-1849-2005

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Weygand, J. M., Kivelson, M. G., Khurana, K. K., Schwarzl, H. K., Thompson, S. M., McPherron, R. L., et al. (2005). Plasma sheet turbulence observed by Cluster II. J. Geophys. Res. 110, A01205. doi:10.1029/2004JA010581

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Weygand, J. M., Matthaeus, W. H., Dasso, S., Kivelson, M. G., and Walker, R. J. (2007). Taylor scale and effective magnetic Reynolds number determination from plasma sheet and solar wind magnetic field fluctuations. J. Geophys. Res. 112 (A10), A10201. doi:10.1029/2007JA012486

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Yordanova, E., Vörös, Z., Varsani, A., Graham, D. B., Norgren, C., Khotyaintsev, Y. V., et al. (2016). Electron scale structures and magnetic reconnection signatures in the turbulent magnetosheath. Geophys. Res. Lett. 43 (12), 5969–5978. doi:10.1002/2016GL069191

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Keywords: plasma turbulence, magnetic reconnection, waves, instabilities, dissipation mechanisms, kinetic plasma processes, in situ observations, numerical simulations

Citation: Greco A, Perrone D, Lavraud B and Chasapis A (2020) Editorial: Improving the Understanding of Kinetic Processes in Solar Wind and Magnetosphere: From CLUSTER to Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 7:549935. doi: 10.3389/fspas.2020.549935

Received: 07 April 2020; Accepted: 29 September 2020;
Published: 30 October 2020.

Edited and reviewed by:

Rudolf Von Steiger, University of Bern, Switzerland

Copyright © 2020 Greco, Perrone, Lavraud and Chasapis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Antonella Greco, antonella.greco@fis.unical.it

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.