Energetic particle precipitation into the high-latitude ionosphere and the auroral electrojets. 3. Characteristics of electron precipitation into the morning-sector auroral oval

Technical Report · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:6182291

Rostoker, G; Kamide, Y; Winningham, J D

Data from the University of Alberta meridian line of magnetometers are utilized to define the poleward and equatorward borders of the westward electrojet in the morning sector. Soft-particle spectrometer data from the Isis 2 polar orbiting satellite are organized in the framework of the westward electrojet for cases where the satellite orbital path took it close to the meridian line of magnetometers. The results suggest that the Harang discontinuity does not signify any significant asymmetry in convection drift paths in the magnetosphere and that asymmetries noted in ionospheric current flow and auroral luminosity are due solely to asymmetries in the energies to which electrons may be accelerated in the morning compared to the evening sector. A model of plasma convective flow in the magnetosphere is presented which is consistent with the observations reported in this paper.

• Research Organization: Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6182291
• Report Number(s): AD-A-160490/9/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ASYMMETRY
AURORAE
AURORAL OVAL
CHARGED-PARTICLE PRECIPITATION
CONVECTION
CURRENTS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
ELECTROJETS
ELECTRON PRECIPITATION
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY TRANSFER
FERMIONS
HEAT TRANSFER
IONOSPHERE
LEPTONS
LUMINOSITY
MAGNETOMETERS
MASS TRANSFER
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES