Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003agufmsm41b0562j&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2003, abstract #SM41B-0562
Physics
2704 Auroral Phenomena (2407), 2708 Current Systems (2409), 2712 Electric Fields (2411)
Scientific paper
Over the years, satellite observations have suggested the following characteristics of the downward auroral-current region: diverging electrostatic shocks and a downward pointing parallel E-field; upflowing low energy (less than a few kilovolts) field-aligned electrons; intense transverse ion heating; small-scale density cavities; intense ELF and VLF electric-field turbulence; and sometimes rapidly moving bipolar solitary structures. We give a multimoment fluid theory for the auroral return-current region that is based on the Vlasov-Maxwell equations for the particle dynamics and a Fokker-Planck model for the wave-particle interactions. Using FAST particle and wave data as a boundary condition, these equations may be integrated from the satellite altitude down to the shock- and transition-region altitude and up to several earth radii in order to determine both the short- and long-range, self-consistent parallel potential. For a particular winter satellite pass near local midnight, this model finds that typical voltage distributions are: a 240 volt increase from the bottom of the shock region to the top of the transition region (2800 km); a 30 volt increase from the top of the transition region to the satellite altitude (4130 km); and a 330 volt increase from the satellite altitude to 3 earth radii for a total potential increase from the topside ionosphere to 3 earth radii of about 600 volts.
Bonnell Jerry
Bouhram Mehdi
Carlson Carl W.
Jasperse John R.
Lund Eric J.
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