Heating of multi-species upflowing ion beams observed by Cluster on March 28, 2001

Cluster satellites observed three successive outflowing ion beams on 28 March, 2001. It is generally accepted that these ion beams, composed of H⁺, He⁺, and O⁺ ions, with three inverted-V structures in their energy spectra, are produced by acceleration through U-shaped potential structures. By eliminating the background ion population and employing Maxwelling fitting, we find that ions coming from the center of the potential structure have higher temperature than those from the flanks. Higher temperature of O⁺ and He⁺ compared to that of H⁺ indicates that heavy ions are preferentially heated; we further infer that the heating efficiencies of O⁺ and He⁺ ions differ between the center and edges of the U-shaped potential structures. Estimation based on pitch angle observations shows that heating may also occur at an altitude above the upper boundary of the auroral acceleration region (AAR), where these beams are generally thought to be formed.