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Electron holes (EHs) are nonlinear electrostatic structures in plasmas. Most previous in situ studies of EHs have been limited to single‐ and two‐spacecraft methods. We present statistics of EHs observed by Magnetospheric Multiscale on the magnetospheric side of the magnetopause during October 2016 when the spacecraft separation was around 6 km. Each EH is observed by all four spacecraft, allowing EH properties to be determined with unprecedented accuracy. We find that the parallel length scale, l_∥, scales with the Debye length. The EHs can be separated into three groups of speed and potential based on their coupling to ions. We present a method for calculating the perpendicular length scale, l_⊥. The method can be applied to a small subset of the observed EHs for which we find shapes ranging from almost spherical to more oblate. For the remaining EHs we use statistical arguments to find l_⊥/l_∥≈5, implying dominance of oblate EHs.

Plain Language Summary: Electron holes are positively charged structures moving along the magnetic field and are frequently observed in space plasmas in relation to strong currents and electron beams. Electron holes interact with the plasma, leading to electron heating and scattering. In order to understand the effect of these electron holes, we need to accurately determine their properties, such as velocity, length scale, and potential. Most earlier studies have relied on single‐ or two‐spacecraft methods to analyze electron holes. In this study we use the four satellites of the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission to analyze 236 electron holes with unprecedented accuracy. We find that the holes can be divided into three distinct groups with different properties. Additionally, we calculate the width of individual electron holes, finding that they are typically much wider than long, resembling

We report observations of electromagnetic electron holes (EHs). We use multispacecraft analysis to quantify the magnetic field contributions of three mechanisms: the Lorentz transform, electron drift within the EH, and Cherenkov emission of whistler waves. The first two mechanisms account for the observed magnetic fields for slower EHs, while for EHs with speeds approaching half the electron Alfven speed, whistler waves excited via the Cherenkov mechanism dominate the perpendicular magnetic field. The excited whistler waves are kinetically damped and typically confined within the EHs.

We report Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of large amplitude, parallel, electrostatic, proton plasma frequency waves on the magnetospheric side of the reconnecting magnetopause. The waves are often found in the magnetospheric separatrix region and in the outflow near the magnetospheric ion edge. Statistical results from five months of data show that these waves are closely tied to the presence of cold (typically tens of eV) ions, found for 88% of waves near the separatrix region, and that plasma properties are consistent with ion acoustic wavegrowth. We analyze one wave event in detail, concluding that the wave is ion acoustic. We provide a simple explanation for the mechanisms leading to the development of the ion acoustic instability. These waves can be important for separatrix dynamics by heating the cold ion component and providing a mechanism to damp the kinetic Alfven waves propagating away from the reconnection site.

When analyzing plasma waves, a key parameter to determine is the phase velocity. It enables us to, for example, compute wavelengths, wave potentials, and determine the energy of resonant particles. The phase velocity of a wave, observed by a single spacecraft equipped with electric field probes, can be determined using interferometry techniques. While several methods have been developed to do this, they have not been documented in detail. In this study, we use an analytical model to analyze and compare three interferometry methods applied on the probe geometry of the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft. One method relies on measured probe potentials, whereas the other two use different E-field measurements: one by reconstructing the E-field between two probes and the spacecraft, the other by constructing four pairwise parallel E-field components in the spacecraft spin-plane. We find that the potential method is sensitive both to how planar the wave is, and to spacecraft potential changes due to the wave. The E-field methods are less affected by the spacecraft potential, and while the reconstructed E-field method is applicable in some cases, the second E-field method is almost always preferable. We conclude that the potential based interferometry method is useful when spacecraft potential effects are negligible and the signals of the different probes are very well correlated. The method using two pairs of parallel E-fields is practically always preferable to the reconstructed E-field method and produces the correct velocity in the spin-plane, but it requires knowledge of the propagation direction to provide the full velocity.

Context. Solar Orbiter was launched on 10 February 2020 with the purpose of investigating solar and heliospheric physics using a payload of instruments designed for both remote and in situ studies. Similar to the recently launched Parker Solar Probe, and unlike earlier missions, Solar Orbiter carries instruments designed to measure low-frequency DC electric fields.

Aims. In this paper, we assess the quality of the low-frequency DC electric field measured by the Radio and Plasma Waves instrument (RPW) on Solar Orbiter. In particular, we investigate the possibility of using Solar Orbiter’s DC electric and magnetic field data to estimate the solar wind speed.

Methods. We used a deHoffmann-Teller (HT) analysis, based on measurements of the electric and magnetic fields, to find the velocity of solar wind current sheets, which minimises a single component of the electric field. By comparing the HT velocity to the proton velocity measured by the Proton and Alpha particle Sensor (PAS), we have developed a simple model for the effective antenna length, L_eff of the E-field probes. We then used the HT method to estimate the speed of the solar wind.

Results. Using the HT method, we find that the observed variations in E_y are often in excellent agreement with the variations in the magnetic field. The magnitude of E_y, however, is uncertain due to the fact that the L_eff depends on the plasma environment. Here, we derive an empirical model relating L_eff to the Debye length, which we can use to improve the estimate of E_y and, consequently, the estimated solar wind speed.

Conclusions. The low-frequency electric field provided by RPW is of high quality. Using the deHoffmann-Teller analysis, Solar Orbiter’s magnetic and electric field measurements can be used to estimate the solar wind speed when plasma data are unavailable.