Alfven Waves and Static Fields in Magnetosphere/ionosphere Coupling: In-Situ Measurements and a Numerical Model

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Aurora

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Perturbation electric and magnetic fields carry in excess of 1010 to 1012 W of electrical power between the magnetosphere and high-latitude ionosphere. Most of this power is generated by the solar wind. The ionosphere at large spatial and temporal scales acts as a dissipative slab which can be characterized by its height-integrated Pedersen conductivity Sigma_{p }, so that the power flux into the ionosphere due to a quasi-static electric field E is given by SigmapE2. The energy transferred to the ionosphere by time -varying electromagnetic fields in the form of Alfven waves is more difficult to calculate because density and conductivity gradients can reflect energy. Thus, field resonances and standing wave patterns affect the magnitude and altitude distribution of electrical energy dissipation. We use a numerical model to calculate the frequency-dependent electric field reflection coefficient of the ionosphere and show that the ionosphere does not behave as a simple resistive slab for electric field time scales less than a few seconds. Time variation of spacecraft-measured high-latitude electric and perturbation magnetic fields is difficult to distinguish from spatial structuring that has been Doppler -shifted to a non-zero frequency in the spacecraft frame. However, by calculating the frequency-dependent amplitude and phase relations between fluctuating electric and magnetic fields we are able to show that low frequency fields (< 1 Hz) measured by an auroral sounding rocket traveling parallel to the auroral oval are due to standing Alfven waves rather than quasi-static structures. Comparing the field fluctuations with electron energy measurements indicates that the waves occur near auroral arcs. We include satellite data in our study as well. The amplitude relations between electric and magnetic field measurements taken by the HILAT satellite (traveling perpendicular to the auroral oval at an altitude of 800 km) show that the field fluctuations are due largely to Doppler-shifted quasi-static structures, but in some cases standing Alfven waves also contribute.

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