Pressure balance at the magnetopause: Experimental studies

Details Pressure balance at the magnetopause: Experimental studies Pressure balance at the magnetopause: Experimental studies

2011-10-24

arxiv.org/abs/1110.5209v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

8 pages, 2 figures

Scientific paper

10.1029/2010JA015404 10.1029/201

The pressure balance at the magnetopause is formed by magnetic field and plasma in the magnetosheath, on one side, and inside the magnetosphere, on the other side. In the approach of dipole earth's magnetic field configuration and gas-dynamics solar wind flowing around the magnetosphere, the pressure balance predicts that the magnetopause distance R depends on solar wind dynamic pressure Pd as a power low R ~ Pd^alpha, where the exponent alpha=-1/6. In the real magnetosphere the magnetic filed is contributed by additional sources: Chapman-Ferraro current system, field-aligned currents, tail current, and storm-time ring current. Net contribution of those sources depends on particular magnetospheric region and varies with solar wind conditions and geomagnetic activity. As a result, the parameters of pressure balance, including power index alpha, depend on both the local position at the magnetopause and geomagnetic activity. In addition, the pressure balance can be affected by a non-linear transfer of the solar wind energy to the magnetosheath, especially for quasi-radial regime of the subsolar bow shock formation proper for the interplanetary magnetic field vector aligned with the solar wind plasma flow.

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