A magnetospheric dynamo to explain quasi-stationary acceleration of plasma in discrete auroral arcs as observed by Cluster and DMSP spacecraft.

Details A magnetospheric dynamo to explain quasi-stationary acceleration of plasma in discrete auroral arcs as observed by Cluster and DMSP spacecraft. A magnetospheric dynamo to explain quasi-stationary acceleration of plasma in discrete auroral arcs as observed by Cluster and DMSP spacecraft.

Dec 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufmsm11c..04m&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #SM11C-04

Physics

2704 Auroral Phenomena (2407), 2721 Field-Aligned Currents And Current Systems (2409), 2753 Numerical Modeling

Scientific paper

Auroral field lines couple the ionosphere with the magnetosphere via field-aligned currents. The nature of the generator initiating this current system is still under debate and several mechanisms have been proposed. In particular, we discuss a model that couples a magnetospheric boundary and the evening polar ionosphere. The model uses a non-linear current-voltage relationship for the upward current and solves the current continuity equation at the top of the ionosphere. It results in producing discrete auroral arcs, intense upward field-aligned currents and regions of enhanced Pedersen conductance. In the dusk sector Cluster identifies outflowing ion beams and bipolar electric field signatures at the interface between two plasma regions with different macroscopic properties. We estimate the orientation and spatial scale of the plasma interface for different events as well as the field aligned current density and parallel potential drop. In particular we show a detailed comparison of the model results with experimental data taken during the 28 April 2001 conjunction between Cluster (above the acceleration region) and DMSP spacecraft (passing trough Region 1 field-aligned currents embedding a discrete auroral arc) discussed by Vaivads et al. (GRL, 2003). Using the discontinuity parameters as observed in-situ by Cluster, the model fairly reproduces the characteristics of the arc both at Cluster and DMSP altitude. This study shows evidence of a quasi-stationary acceleration of auroral electrons by a field aligned potential drop sustained by the convergent electric field at a magnetospheric boundary.

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