Ion Cyclotron Waves and Ion Heating in the Auroral Ionosphere

Physics

Scientific paper

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2431 Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Interactions (2736), 2487 Wave Propagation (6934), 2704 Auroral Phenomena (2407), 7867 Wave/Particle Interactions

Scientific paper

Upwelling ions are commonly observed along auroral field lines in association with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. The waves may be caused by any of a number of mechanisms: electron current or beams, ion beams, velocity shear, temperature anisotropy, and/or loss cone. Usually these waves are observed with a downward Poynting flux, and it is expected that they propagate into the ionosphere where they can heat ionospheric oxygen and helium. We have solved the electromagnetic wave equations for ion cyclotron waves as they propagate along the magnetic field lines into the ionosphere. Based on the wave solutions, it is possible to understand how much wave energy is deposited in the heavy ions through ion cyclotron and Joule dissipation as well as the location where the energy is deposited. The dissipation has a sensitive dependence on the density of the minority species and on the spectrum of the ion cyclotron waves. We provide ion heating rates as a function of altitude below the satellite for commonly observed wave spectra and discuss the resulting ion distributions.

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