Inductive electric fields in the magnetotail and their relation to auroral and substorm phenomena

Inductive electric fields are important in explanations of magnetospheric and auroral phemonena during both moderately and highly disturbed conditions. In the present analytical model, the characteristic observations of a substorm onset are taken into account, confining triggering to a small local t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Space science reviews 1984, Vol.37 (1-2), p.1-61
Main Authors: PELLINEN, R. J, HEIKKILA, W. J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth, ocean, space
Electric fields
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Physics of the magnetosphere
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Summary:Inductive electric fields are important in explanations of magnetospheric and auroral phemonena during both moderately and highly disturbed conditions. In the present analytical model, the characteristic observations of a substorm onset are taken into account, confining triggering to a small local time sector. During moderate disturbances, magnetotail induction fields are at least one order of magnitude stronger than the average cross-tail field, and the temporal development of the disturbed area results in X- and O-type neutral lines. Particles near these lines are energized to more than 1 MeV in a few seconds due to an effective combination of linear and betatron acceleration. The model predicts the existence of highly localized, cable-type field-aligned currents which appear on the eastern and western edges of the expanding auroral bulge. The predictions agree both with satellite observations and with the data obtained from the two-dimensional instrument networks operated in northern Europe during the International Magnetospheric Study.
ISSN:0038-6308
1572-9672
DOI:10.1007/BF00213957