Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufmsm41c1887l&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #SM41C-1887
Physics
[2431] Ionosphere / Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Interactions, [2776] Magnetospheric Physics / Polar Cap Phenomena, [2784] Magnetospheric Physics / Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interactions
Scientific paper
The transpolar ionospheric potential is generated by both dayside reconnection with the interplanetary magnetic field and a viscous-like interaction with the antisunward flowing solar wind. The reconnection potential increases with increasing IMF magnitude (at a fixed clock angle) while the viscous potential increases with both increasing solar wind velocity and density. It is well known that the magnitude of the reconnection potential is limited. As the transverse IMF grows to sufficient magnitude, the transpolar ionospheric potential saturates and ceases to increase as the IMF increases. On the other hand, simulations using the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry simulation code of the value of the viscous component of the potential do not exhibit the saturation effect. The viscous potential in the simulation increases to values beyond the reconnection saturation value at extreme values of the solar wind velocity (>2400 km/s). In addition to the simulation results, we present observations from DMSP of the transpolar ionospheric potential that are consistent with our simulations results for the solar wind conditions under which the observations were made, suggesting that in fact during periods of extreme solar wind speeds, such as occurred during the 1859 Carrington event or the August 1972 event, the viscous interaction could be a very significant factor in solar wind-magnetosphere coupling.
Bruntz Robert Jeffrey
Lopez Robert E.
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