We present a case study of the field‐aligned current (FAC) systems that transpire within the high‐altitude auroral acceleration region of an “auroral bead” initiated double oval substorm observed on 23 February 2001 by the Cluster fleet. Conjunctive Cluster measurements and auroral images from IMAGE reveal that auroral bead current system formation and evolution is a multi‐scale, injection‐mediated process. The FACs at large scales vary on substorm evolution time scales (∼minutes) in response to the injection and evolution of hotter denser magnetospheric plasma. Embedded within the large‐scale FACs are intense short‐scale (≲ few 10s of km) currents comprising dispersive scale Alfvén wave (DAW) fluctuations. The DAWs are a complex mixture of ingoing and reflected components that regularly interfere to form a broad spectrum of kinetic (dispersive) scale Alfvénic field‐line resonances (KFLRs). The Alfvénic currents appear as a nested series of upward and downward FAC densities with amplitudes reaching a few 100 nA/m2. Energized field‐aligned or counterstreaming electrons near keV energies and below are observed with parallel skews that vary in concert with variations in the DAW current sense. Positive correlations between DAW electric field energy densities and the energies of energized H+, He+, and O+outflow are observed, indicative of ion energization within the DAW fields. Due to their L‐shell location (
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Plasma escape from the high‐latitude ionosphere (ion outflow) serves as a significant source of heavy plasma to the magnetospheric plasma sheet and ring current regions. Outflows alter mass density and reconnection rates, hence global responses of the magnetosphere. A new fully kinetic and semi‐kinetic model, KAOS (Kinetic model of Auroral ion OutflowS), is constructed from first principles which traces large numbers of individual O+ion macro‐particles along curved magnetic field lines, using a guiding‐center approximation, in order to facilitate calculation of ion distribution functions and moments. Particle forces include mirror and parallel electric field forces, a self‐consistent ambipolar electric field, and a parameterized source of ion cyclotron resonance wave heating, thought to be central to the transverse energization of ions. The model is initiated with a steady‐state ion density altitude profile and Maxwellian velocity distribution and particle trajectories are advanced via a direct simulation Monte Carlo scheme. This outlines the implementation of the kinetic outflow model, demonstrates the model's ability to achieve near‐hydrostatic equilibrium necessary for simulation spin‐up, and investigates L‐shell dependent wave heating and pressure cookers scenarios. This paper illustrates the model initialization process and numerical investigations of L‐shell dependent outflows and pressure cooker environments and serves to advance our understanding of the drivers and particle dynamics in the auroral ionosphere.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10483434
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
- Volume:
- 129
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2169-9380
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract L ∼5.8–7.0) and associations with injections, the KFLRs are interpreted as the high‐altitude auroral zone analog of KFLRs observed in the equatorial inner magnetosphere. -
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Abstract We present observations during two substorms using simultaneous Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms satellites and all‐sky imagers to determine plasma sheet dynamics associated with substorm auroral onset beads. The multi‐satellite observations showed that the cross‐tail current decreased and the field‐aligned currents increased at the substorm auroral onset, indicating that the satellites detected an initiation of the currents being deflected to the ionosphere. For duskward‐propagating beads, the electric field was tailward, and ions were accumulated closer to the Earth than electrons. The mapped bead propagation speed was close to energetic ion drift speed. The
and electron drift speeds increased duskward and reduced the cross‐tail current at the onset. For dawnward‐propagating beads, the electric field was equatorward/earthward, and electrons were inferred to accumulate earthward of ions. The mapped bead propagation speed was comparable to the dawnward and electron drift speeds. The duskward ion drift and tail current were reduced, and electrons became the dominant current carrier. We suggest that the plasma species that is responsible for the bead propagation changes with the electric field configuration and that the tail current reduction by the enhanced drift at onset destabilizes the plasma sheet. Ion and electron outflows substantially increased low‐energy plasma density and may have increased the role of drifts. The bead wavelength was comparable to ion gyroradius and thus ion kinetic effects are important for determining the wavelength. In the dawnward‐propagating event, the mode of oscillation in the plasma sheet was suggested to be the sausage‐mode flapping oscillations. -
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