Relation Between Laboratory and Space Plasmas pp 197-204 | Cite as
Magnetic Field Aligned Currents and the Structure of the Auroral Ionosphere
Abstract
A relation between the magnetic field aligned current (FAC) and other physical quantities characterizing the plasma is discussed with particular attention paid to a description of the FACs in the ionosphere. The ionospheric FACs are related to the properties of the vector field of the total mechanical force G, acting on a volume element of the multi-component ionospheric gas. The FACs flow in the ionosphere if and only if B·curl G ≠ 0. The vorticity of G is determined mainly by the horizontal gradients of the total atmospheric density p in the auroral oval. The FACs observed on the polar orbiting satellites are related to the enhancement of ρ in the auroral zone ionosphere.
Keywords
Plasma Sheet Magnetic Field Variation Auroral Oval Field Align Current Sudden Storm CommencementPreview
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