scholarly journals A quantitative model of the magnetosphere with poloidal vector fields

1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1557-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Kosik
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Vector Fields ◽  
Ring Current ◽  
Computer Time ◽  
Quantitative Model ◽  
Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics ◽  
Current Region ◽  
Magnetospheric Configuration ◽  
Distant Field ◽  
Dependent Field

Abstract. A quantitative model of the magnetospheric magnetic field is developed using poloidal vector fields. This formalism is applied to the ring current region, the distant field and the return currents. The tail model is similar to the unwarped model of Tsyganenko. Several sets of coefficients are obtained for different Kp through a fit of the NSSDC data base. Experimental ΔB contours and theoretical distributed currents contours are correctly described and are Kp-dependent. Field line topology problems and poor ring current description observed in models of similar complexity are avoided. Computer time has been kept reasonable and makes this model particularly adapted to intensive-type calculations.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (magnetospheric · configuration and dynamics).  

scholarly journals A note on the ring current in Saturn’s magnetosphere: Comparison of magnetic data obtained during the Pioneer-11 and Voyager-1 and -2 fly-bys

2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. Bunce ◽  
S. W. H. Cowley
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Ring Current ◽  
Current System ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
Total Current ◽  
Planetary Magnetospheres ◽  
Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics ◽  
Magnetospheric Configuration ◽  
First Time ◽  
Current Systems

Abstract. We examine the residual (measured minus internal) magnetic field vectors observed in Saturn’s magnetosphere during the Pioneer-11 fly-by in 1979, and compare them with those observed during the Voyager-1 and -2 fly-bys in 1980 and 1981. We show for the first time that a ring current system was present within the magnetosphere during the Pioneer-11 encounter, which was qualitatively similar to those present during the Voyager fly-bys. The analysis also shows, however, that the ring current was located closer to the planet during the Pioneer-11 encounter than during the comparable Voyager-1 fly-by, reflecting the more com-pressed nature of the magnetosphere at the time. The residual field vectors have been fit using an adaptation of the current system proposed for Jupiter by Connerney et al. (1981a). A model that provides a reasonably good fit to the Pioneer-11 Saturn data extends radially between 6.5 and 12.5 RS (compared with a noon-sector magnetopause distance of 17 RS), has a north-south extent of 4 RS, and carries a total current of 9.6 MA. A corresponding model that provides a qualitatively similar fit to the Voyager data, determined previously by Connerney et al. (1983), extends radially between 8 and 15.5 RS (compared with a noon-sector magnetopause distance for Voyager-1 of 23–24 RS), has a north-south extent of 6 RS, and carries a total current of 11.5 MA.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (current systems, magnetospheric configuration and dynamics, planetary magnetospheres)

scholarly journals First current density measurements in the ring current region using simultaneous multi-spacecraft CLUSTER-FGM data

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1849-1865 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Vallat ◽  
I. Dandouras ◽  
M. Dunlop ◽  
A. Balogh ◽  
E. Lucek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Ring Current ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Local Current Density ◽  
Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics ◽  
Local Current ◽  
Current Region ◽  
First Time

Abstract. The inner magnetosphere's current mapping is one of the key elements for current loop closure inside the entire magnetosphere. A method for directly computing the current is the multi-spacecraft curlometer technique, which is based on the application of Maxwell-Ampère's law. This requires the use of four-point magnetic field high resolution measurements. The FGM experiment on board the four Cluster spacecraft allows, for the first time, an instantaneous calculation of the magnetic field gradients and thus a measurement of the local current density. This technique requires, however, a careful study concerning all the factors that can affect the accuracy of the J estimate, such as the tetrahedral geometry of the four spacecraft, or the size and orientation of the current structure sampled. The first part of this paper is thus providing a detailed analysis of the method accuracy, and points out the limitations of this technique in the region of interest. The second part is an analysis of the ring current region, which reveals, for the first time, the large latitudinal extent of the ring current, for all magnetic activity levels, as well as the latitudinal evolution of the perpendicular (and parallel) components of the current along the diffuse auroral zone. Our analysis also points out the sharp transition between two distinct plasma regions, with the existence of high diamagnetic currents at the interface, as well as the filamentation of the current inside the inner plasma sheet. A statistical study over multiple perigee passes of Cluster (at about 4 RE from the Earth) reveals the azimuthal extent of the partial ring current. It also reveals that, at these distances and all along the evening sector, there isn't necessarily a strong dependence of the local current density value on the magnetic activity level. This is a direct consequence of the ring current morphology evolution, as well as the relative positioning of the spacecraft with respect to the bulk of the ring current. It also proves the existence of a substantial ring current at these distances, all over the evening and the post-midnight sector. Keywords. Magnetospheric physics (Current systems; Energetic particles, trapped; Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics)

scholarly journals Morphology of the ring current derived from magnetic field observations

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1267-1295 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Le ◽  
C. T. Russell ◽  
K. Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Ring Current ◽  
Current System ◽  
Local Times ◽  
Unexpected Result ◽  
Magnetic Field Data ◽  
Dst Index ◽  
Ring Currents ◽  
Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics

Abstract. Our examination of the 20 years of magnetospheric magnetic field data from ISEE, AMPTE/CCE and Polar missions has allowed us to quantify how the ring current flows and closes in the magnetosphere at a variety of disturbance levels. Using intercalibrated magnetic field data from the three spacecraft, we are able to construct the statistical magnetic field maps and derive 3-dimensional current density by the simple device of taking the curl of the statistically determined magnetic field. The results show that there are two ring currents, an inner one that flows eastward at ~3 RE and a main westward ring current at ~4–7 RE for all levels of geomagnetic disturbances. In general, the in-situ observations show that the ring current varies as the Dst index decreases, as we would expect it to change. An unexpected result is how asymmetric it is in local time. Some current clearly circles the magnetosphere but much of the energetic plasma stays in the night hemisphere. These energetic particles appear not to be able to readily convect into the dayside magnetosphere. During quiet times, the symmetric and partial ring currents are similar in strength (~0.5MA) and the peak of the westward ring current is close to local midnight. It is the partial ring current that exhibits most drastic intensification as the level of disturbances increases. Under the condition of moderate magnetic storms, the total partial ring current reaches ~3MA, whereas the total symmetric ring current is ~1MA. Thus, the partial ring current contributes dominantly to the decrease in the Dst index. As the ring current strengthens the peak of the partial ring current shifts duskward to the pre-midnight sector. The partial ring current is closed by a meridional current system through the ionosphere, mainly the field-aligned current, which maximizes at local times near the dawn and dusk. The closure currents flow in the sense of region-2 field-aligned currents, downward into the ionosphere near the dusk and upward out of the ionosphere near the dawn. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (current systems; storms and substorms; magnetospheric configuration and dynamics)

scholarly journals Long-term evolution of magnetospheric current systems during storms

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1317-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Yu. Ganushkina ◽  
T. I. Pulkkinen ◽  
M. V. Kubyshkina ◽  
H. J. Singer ◽  
C. T. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Ring Current ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
High Time Resolution ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Field Representation ◽  
Dst Index ◽  
Model Free ◽  
Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics ◽  
Current Systems

Abstract. We present a method to model the storm-time magnetospheric magnetic field using representations of the magnetic field arising from the various magnetospheric current systems. We incorporate the effects of magnetotail changes during substorms by introducing an additional localized thin current sheet into the Tsyganenko T89 model. To represent the storm-time ring current the T89 ring current is replaced by a bean-shaped current system, which has a cross section that is close to the observed distribution of trapped particles in the inner magnetosphere and has an eastward flowing inner and westward flowing outer components. In addition to the symmetric ring current, an asymmetric partial ring current is taken into account with closing Region 2 sense field-aligned currents. Magnetopause currents are varied in accordance with solar wind dynamic pressure variations. Three moderate geomagnetic storms when Dst reached about –150 nT and one big storm with Dst about –250 nT are modelled. The model free parameters are specified for each time step separately using observations from GOES 8 and 9, Polar, Interball and Geotail satellites and Dst measurements. The model gives a high time-resolution field representation of the large-scale magnetic field, and a very good reproduction of the Dst index. It is shown that the ring current is most important during intense storms, whereas the near-Earth tail currents contribute more to the Dst index than the ring current during moderate storms. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (Current systems; Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics; Storms and substorms)

scholarly journals Double layers in the downward current region of the aurora

2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. Ergun ◽  
L. Andersson ◽  
C. W. Carlson ◽  
D. L. Newman ◽  
M. V. Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Electron Beam ◽  
Phase Space ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Double Layers ◽  
Parallel Electric Field ◽  
Electrostatic Waves ◽  
Current Region ◽  
Decisive Evidence

Abstract. Direct observations of magnetic-field-aligned (parallel) electric fields in the downward current region of the aurora provide decisive evidence of naturally occurring double layers. We report measurements of parallel electric fields, electron fluxes and ion fluxes related to double layers that are responsible for particle acceleration. The observations suggest that parallel electric fields organize into a structure of three distinct, narrowly-confined regions along the magnetic field (B). In the "ramp" region, the measured parallel electric field forms a nearly-monotonic potential ramp that is localized to ~ 10 Debye lengths along B. The ramp is moving parallel to B at the ion acoustic speed (vs) and in the same direction as the accelerated electrons. On the high-potential side of the ramp, in the "beam" region, an unstable electron beam is seen for roughly another 10 Debye lengths along B. The electron beam is rapidly stabilized by intense electrostatic waves and nonlinear structures interpreted as electron phase-space holes. The "wave" region is physically separated from the ramp by the beam region. Numerical simulations reproduce a similar ramp structure, beam region, electrostatic turbulence region and plasma characteristics as seen in the observations. These results suggest that large double layers can account for the parallel electric field in the downward current region and that intense electrostatic turbulence rapidly stabilizes the accelerated electron distributions. These results also demonstrate that parallel electric fields are directly associated with the generation of large-amplitude electron phase-space holes and plasma waves.

scholarly journals How to make the Sun look less like the Sun and more like a star?

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S328) ◽  
pp. 237-239
Author(s):  
A. A. Vidotto
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vector Fields ◽  
Radial Component ◽  
Field Vector ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
General Context ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Flux Transport ◽  
Large Scale Magnetic Field

AbstractSynoptic maps of the vector magnetic field have routinely been made available from stellar observations and recently have started to be obtained for the solar photospheric field. Although solar magnetic maps show a multitude of details, stellar maps are limited to imaging large-scale fields only. In spite of their lower resolution, magnetic field imaging of solar-type stars allow us to put the Sun in a much more general context. However, direct comparison between stellar and solar magnetic maps are hampered by their dramatic differences in resolution. Here, I present the results of a method to filter out the small-scale component of vector fields, in such a way that comparison between solar and stellar (large-scale) magnetic field vector maps can be directly made. This approach extends the technique widely used to decompose the radial component of the solar magnetic field to the azimuthal and meridional components as well, and is entirely consistent with the description adopted in several stellar studies. This method can also be used to confront synoptic maps synthesised in numerical simulations of dynamo and magnetic flux transport studies to those derived from stellar observations.

scholarly journals ARBTools: A Tricubic Spline Interpolator for Three-Dimensional Scalar or Vector Fields

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Walker ◽  
Ulrich Krohn ◽  
Carty David
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Vector Field ◽  
Vector Fields ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Spline Method ◽  
Particle Trajectories ◽  
The Core ◽  
Numerical Integrators ◽  
Data Points ◽  
System Requirements

ARBTools is a Python library containing a Lekien-Marsden type tricubic spline method for interpolating three-dimensional scalar or vector fields presented as a set of discrete data points on a regular cuboid grid. ARBTools was developed for simulations of magnetic molecular traps, in which the magnitude, gradient and vector components of a magnetic field are required. Numerical integrators for solving particle trajectories are included, but the core interpolator can be used for any scalar or vector field. The only additional system requirements are NumPy.

scholarly journals The ring current: a short biography

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Egeland ◽  
W. J. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Ring Current ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Mass Spectrometers ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Magnetic Signatures ◽  
Collective Plasma

Abstract. The "ring current'' grows in the inner magnetosphere during magnetic storms and contributes significantly to characteristic perturbations to the Earth's field observed at low-latitudes. This paper outlines how understanding of the ring current evolved during the half-century intervals before and after humans gained direct access to space. Its existence was first postulated in 1910 by Carl Størmer to explain the locations and equatorward migrations of aurorae under stormtime conditions. In 1917 Adolf Schmidt applied Størmer's ring-current hypothesis to explain the observed negative perturbations in the Earth's magnetic field. More than another decade would pass before Sydney Chapman and Vicenzo Ferraro argued for its necessity to explain magnetic signatures observed during the main phases of storms. Both the Størmer and Chapman–Ferraro models had difficulties explaining how solar particles entered and propagated in the magnetosphere to form the ring current. During the early 1950s Hannes Alfvén correctly argued that the ring current was a collective plasma effect, but failed to explain particle entry. The discovery of a weak but persistent interplanetary magnetic field embedded in a continuous solar wind provided James Dungey with sufficient evidence to devise the magnetic merging-reconnection model now regarded as the basis for understanding magnetospheric and auroral activity. In the mid-1960s Louis Frank showed that ions in the newly discovered plasma sheet had the energy spectral characteristics needed to explain the ring current's origin. The introduction of ion mass spectrometers on space missions during the 1970s revealed that O+ ions from the ionosphere contribute large fractions of the ring current's energy content. Precisely how cold O+ ions in the ionosphere are accelerated to ring-current energies still challenges scientific understanding.

scholarly journals Magnetic field configuration and field-aligned acceleration of energetic ions during substorm onsets

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1089-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Korth ◽  
Z. Y. Pu
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Plasma Sheet ◽  
Field Configuration ◽  
Local Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics ◽  
Night Side ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Synchronous Orbit ◽  
Substorm Onsets

Abstract. In this paper, we present an interpretation of the observed field-aligned acceleration events measured by GEOS-2 near the night-side synchronous orbit at substorm onsets (Chen et al., 2000). We show that field-aligned acceleration of ions (with pitch angle asymmetry) is closely related to strong short-lived electric fields in the Ey direction. The acceleration is associated with either rapid dipolarization or further stretching of local magnetic field lines. Theoretical analysis suggests that a centrifugal mechanism is a likely candidate for the parallel energization. Equatorward or anti-equatorward energization occurs when the tail current sheet is thinner tailward or earthward of the spacecraft, respectively. The magnetic field topology leading to anti-equatorward energization corresponds to a situation where the near-Earth tail undergoes further compression and the inner edge of the plasma sheet extends inwards as close as the night-side geosynchronous altitudes.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (magnetospheric configuration and dynamics; plasma sheet; storms and sub-storms)

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