Theory and observation of auroral substorms: A magnetohydrodynamic approach

Physics

Scientific paper

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Auroras, Earth Ionosphere, Earth Magnetosphere, Magnetic Storms, Magnetohydrodynamic Waves, Magnetohydrodynamics, Plasma Equilibrium, Boundary Conditions, Electron Precipitation, Field Aligned Currents, Protons, Solar Wind

Scientific paper

A theory of auroral substorm dynamics is constructed on the basis of MHD wave processes in the ionosphere-magnetosphere system. The basic view is that the substorm commences in the nightside near-Eart magnetosphere through a collapse of plasma equillibirum. The collapse releases a significant amount of free energy embedded initially in a collection of compressional waves. It is suggested that substrom dynamics after the collapse are determined by the evolution of these waves. We first investigate the quantitative ramifications of the waves in a two-dimensional box in the GSM yz cross section of the magnetotail. Themodel is constructed to allow the study of radiation of substorm wave energy into the solar wind and also encompasses the essential elements of resonant interaction in the plasma sheet boundary layer. The natural boundary condition leading to radiative loss is introduced. It is found that wave radiation into the solar wind can relax the magnetospheric system in less than an hour. The resonant Alven modes driven by the normal compressional modes in the box are studied through the construction of proper dispersion equation. By studying the field-aligned current generated by resonanced, we establish the auroral pattern expected to result from the coupling. Followong the theoretical study, we examine an auroral substorm observed by the CANOPUS phtotmeter array on February 20, 1990.

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