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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. 

Abstract To better understand how sharp changes in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field conditions affect the ionosphere outflows at high latitudes, we analyze an event observed on 17 July 2002 showing suprathermal (tens to hundreds of eV) outflowing H⁺ions in the lobe driven by the impact of an interplanetary (IP) shock. A spacecraft in the lobe at altitudes of ∼6.5R_Efirst observed enhanced downward DC Poynting fluxes ∼2 min after the shock impact and then, another 8 min later, the appearance of suprathermal outflowing H⁺ions as ion beams and ion conics. The increasing downward DC Poynting fluxes and the increasing outflowing H⁺fluxes that appeared later were highly correlated because they shared a similar increasing trend with a time scale of ∼5 min. To explain such time delay and correlation, we conclude that a plausible scenario was that the enhanced DC Poynting fluxes reached down to lower altitudes, drove processes to accelerate the pre‐existing polar wind ions to ion beams and ion conics, and then these newly generated suprathermal ions flowed upward to the spacecraft altitudes. This event indicates that an IP shock can drive a significant amount of suprathermal H⁺outflows from the polar cap. 

Abstract We conduct a global hybrid simulation of an observation event to affirm that an interplanetary (IP) shock can drive significant suprathermal (tens to hundreds of eV) H⁺outflows from the polar cap. The event showed that a spacecraft in the lobe at ∼6.5 R_Ealtitude above the polar cap observed the appearance of suprathermal outflowing H⁺ions about 8 min after observing enhanced downward DC Poynting fluxes caused by the shock impact. The simulation includes H⁺ions from both the solar wind and the ionospheric sources. The cusp/mantle region can be accessed by ions from both sources, but only the outflow ions can get into the lobe. Despite that upward flowing solar wind ions can be seen within part of the cusp/mantle region and their locations undergo large transient changes in response to the magnetosphere compression caused by the shock impact, the simulation rules out the possibility that the observed outflowing H⁺ions was due to the spacecraft encountering the moving cusp/mantle. On the other hand, the enhanced downward DC Poynting fluxes caused by the shock impact drive more upward suprathermal outflows, which reach higher altitudes a few minutes later, explaining the observed time delay. Also, these simulated outflowing ions become highly field‐aligned in the upward direction at high altitudes, consistent with the observed energy and pitch‐angle distributions. This simulation‐observation comparison study provides us the physical understanding of the suprathermal outflow H⁺ions coming up from the polar cap. 

Abstract Based on the predictions of global 3D hybrid simulations, we present a new transport/acceleration path for escaped O⁺ions in the upstream solar wind region resulting from the impact of a particular IMF tangential discontinuity (TD) with negative (positive) IMFB_zon the discontinuity's anti‐sunward (sunward) side. For O⁺ions escaping to the duskside magnetosheath and with gyro‐radii larger than the TD thickness, when they encounter the TD, they can first go sunward into the upstream solar wind. They then gyrate clockwise to the pre‐noon side and get accelerated within the solar wind region and circulate back to the dawnside magnetosphere. These ions may be accelerated to well within the ring current energy range depending on the solar wind electric field strength. This new transport/acceleration path can bring some of the escaped ions into the inner magnetosphere, thus providing a new mechanism for generating an O⁺ring current population.