We use kappa distributions to model thousands of ion and electron flux spectra along the plasma sheet and analyze the variation of the spectral index κ and the temperature T in this region. We find that κ distributions are ubiquitous and fit well ion and electron flux spectra during quiet times, and during the expansion and recovery phases of substorms. Near Earth, and up to ∼12 RE, the κ indices are different than the rest of the plasma sheet, both for ions (κi) and electrons (κe). There is a significant dawn‐dusk asymmetry in κi toward the tail, which is enhanced during substorms. The ions also exhibit a permanent temperature asymmetry, determined by a colder dawnside. The whole tail becomes hotter during substorms, but it appears that most of the energy is deposited near Earth.

Abstract. Study of the plasma turbulence in the central plasma sheet was performed using the Interball-Tail satellite data. Fluctuations of the plasma bulk velocity in the plasma sheet were deduced from the measurements taken by the Corall instrument for different levels of geomagnetic activity and different locations inside the plasma sheet. The events that satisfied the following criteria were selected for analysis: number density 0.1-10 cm −3 , ion temperature T ≥0.3 keV, and average bulk velocity ≤100 km/s. It was found that the plasma sheet flow generally appears to be strongly turbulent, i.e. is dominated by fluctuations that are unpredictable. Corresponding eddy-diffusion coefficients in Y-and Z-direction in the GSM coordinate system were derived using the autocorrelation time and rms velocity. Statistical studies of variation of the eddy-diffusion coefficients with the location inside the plasma sheet showed a significant increase in these coefficients in the tailward direction. During substorms this dependence shows strong increase of eddy-diffusion in the central part of the plasma sheet at the distances of 10-30 Earth's radii. This effect is much stronger for Y-components of the eddy-diffusion coefficient, which could be related to the geometry of the plasma sheet, allowing more room for development of eddies in this direction.

The ionospheric responses to the total solar eclipse on 2 July 2019 over low latitudes in southern South America are presented. Ionosonde observations were used within the totality path at La Serena (LS: 29.9°S, 71.3°W) and at Tucumán (TU: 26.9°S, 65.4°W) and Jicamarca (JI: 12.0°S, 76.8°W), with 85% and 52% obscuration, respectively. Total electron content (TEC) estimations over the South American continent were analyzed. The ionospheric impact of the eclipse was simulated using the Sheffield University Plasmasphere-Ionosphere Model (SUPIM) at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). The significant variability of the diurnal variations of the various ionospheric characteristics over equatorial and low latitudes on geomagnetically quiet days makes it difficult to unambiguously determine the ionospheric responses to the eclipse. Nonetheless, some specific issues can be derived, mainly using simulation results. The E and F1 layer critical frequencies and densities below 200 km are found to consistently depend on decreasing solar radiation. However, the F1 layer stratification observed at both TU and LS cannot be related to the eclipse or other processes. The F2 layer does not follow the changes in direct solar radiation during the eclipse. The SUPIM-INPE-modeled F region critical frequency and TEC are overestimated before the eclipse at LS and particularly at TU. However, these overestimations are within the observed large day-today variability. When an artificial prereversal enhancement is added, the simulations during the eclipse better reproduce the observations at JI, are qualitatively better for LS, and are out of phase for TU. The simulations are consistent with conjugate location effects.

Context. Glitches are sudden increases in the rotation rate ν of neutron stars, which are thought to be driven by the neutron superfluid inside the star. The Vela pulsar presents a comparatively high rate of glitches, with 21 events reported since observations began in 1968. These are amongst the largest known glitches (17 of them have sizes Δν/ν ≥ 10−6) and exhibit very similar characteristics. This similarity, combined with the regularity with which large glitches occur, has turned Vela into an archetype of this type of glitching behaviour. The properties of its smallest glitches, on the other hand, are not clearly established. Aims. We explore the population of small-amplitude, rapid rotational changes in the Vela pulsar and determine the rate of occurrence and sizes of its smallest glitches. This will help advance our understanding of the actual distribution of glitch sizes and inter-glitch waiting times in this pulsar, which has implications for theoretical models of the glitch mechanism. Methods. High-cadence observations of the Vela pulsar were taken between 1981 and 2005 at the Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory. An automated systematic search was carried out that investigated whether a significant change of spin frequency ν and/or the spin-down rate ν̇ takes place at any given time. Results. We find two glitches that have not been reported before, with respective sizes Δν/ν of (5.55 ± 0.03) × 10−9 and (38 ± 4) × 10−9. The latter is followed by an exponential-like recovery with a characteristic timescale of 31 d. In addition to these two glitch events, our study reveals numerous events of all possible signatures (i.e. combinations of Δν and Δν̇ signs), all of them small with |Δν|/ν < 10−9, which contribute to the Vela timing noise. Conclusions. The Vela pulsar presents an under-abundance of small glitches compared to many other glitching pulsars, which appears genuine and not a result of observational biases. In addition to typical glitches, the smooth spin-down of the pulsar is also affected by an almost continuous activity that can be partially characterised by small step-like changes in ν, ν̇ or both. Simulations indicate that a continuous wandering of the rotational phase, following a red spectrum, could mimic such step-like changes in the timing residuals.

We studied the evolution of ion and electron distribution functions, approximated by distributions, in the plasma sheet with the distance from the Earth using the data of the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms spacecraft mission. Five events were used to calculate the main parameters of the distribution. For these events at least four spacecraft were aligned along the tail between approximately 7 and 30 R E . It was found that for the majority of events the values of increase tailward. The observed radial profiles could be related to the inner magnetosphere sources of particle acceleration and to the net tailward transport of particles. This net transport is the result of a balance between the average regular bulk transport toward the Earth and the turbulent transport by eddies in the tailward direction.