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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Modelling Sun-Aligned Polar Cap Arcs, D. J. Crain, Jan Josef Sojka, Robert W. Schunk, Lie Zhu
Modelling Sun-Aligned Polar Cap Arcs, D. J. Crain, Jan Josef Sojka, Robert W. Schunk, Lie Zhu
All Physics Faculty Publications
We present results of a new model of the time-dependent ionospheric response to a generalized steady state Sun-aligned (SA) arc structure. The thermal and plasma structure of a “prototype” arc is compared to the general features of observed SA arcs. We find that the general features of electron density, Ne , electron temperature, Te , and ion temperature, Ti , are determined by the distribution of the particle precipitation and E × B convection associated with the SA arc. The model results are extended to predict the possible variation of Ne, Te , and …
Effect Of High Latitude Ionospheric Convection On Sun-Aligned Polar Caps, Jan Josef Sojka, Lie Zhu, D. J. Crain, Robert W. Schunk
Effect Of High Latitude Ionospheric Convection On Sun-Aligned Polar Caps, Jan Josef Sojka, Lie Zhu, D. J. Crain, Robert W. Schunk
All Physics Faculty Publications
A coupled magnetospheric-ionospheric (M-I) MHD model has been used to simulate the formation of Sun-aligned polar cap arcs for a variety of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) dependent polar cap convection fields. The formation process involves launching an Alfvén shear wave from the magnetosphere to the ionosphere where the ionospheric conductance can react self-consistently to changes in the upward currents. We assume that the initial Alfvén shear wave is the result of solar wind-magnetosphere interactions. The simulations show how the E region density is affected by the changes in the electron precipitation that are associated with the upward currents. These changes …