Shear instability - Auroral arc deformation and anomalous momentum transport

Physics

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Auroral Arcs, Magnetohydrodynamic Stability, Momentum Transfer, Shear Flow, Density Wave Model, Earth Magnetosphere, Power Spectra, Viscosity, Vortices

Scientific paper

Temporal evolution of a two-dimensional electrostatic shear instability is numerically studied with special attention to rotational deformation of auroral arcs and momentum transport across the magnetospheric boundary. It is found that the spatial structure of the growing vortex is in good agreement with the small-scale auroral deformation called 'curl'. An anomalous viscosity arising from the shear instability is found to be given approximately by 0.08 times the product of the characteristic distance over which the flow velocity changes by an increment and that increment. If a characteristic distance of 200 km and a flow velocity increment of 250 km/sec are assumed at the magnetospheric boundary, the anomalous viscosity equals 4 times 10 to the 13th power sq cm per sec, which is comparable to, or even larger than, the value estimated by Axford (1964) from energy requirements of a typical magnetic storm. Spectral energies of fully developed electrostatic turbulence are also studied.

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