Abstract
In this contribution we present Viking observations of electrons and positive ions which move upward along the magnetic field lines with energies of the same order of magnitude. We propose that both ions and electrons are accelerated by an electric field which has low-frequency temporal variations such that the ions experience an average electrostatic potential drop along the magnetic field lines whereas the upward streaming electrons are accelerated in periods of downward pointing electric field which is quasi-static for the electrons and forces them to beam out of the field region before the field changes direction.
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Paper dedicated to Professor Hannes Alfvén on the occasion of his 80th birthday, 30 May 1988.
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Hultqvist, B., Lundin, R. Parallel electric fields accelerating ions and electrons in the same direction. Astrophys Space Sci 144, 149–154 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00793178
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00793178