Debye-Scale Plasma Structures Associated with Magnetic-Field-Aligned Electric Fields

We report a new type of spatially coherent plasma structure that is associated with quasistatic, magnetic-field-aligned electric fields in space plasmas. The solitary structures form in a magnetized plasma, are multidimensional, and are highly supersonic. The size along B₀ is a few λD and increases with increasing amplitude, unlike a classical soliton. The perpendicular size appears to be influenced by ion motion. We show that the structures facilitate ion-electron momentum exchange and suggest that an aggregate of structures may play a role supporting large-scale, parallel electric fields.