Core plasma in the magnetosphere

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Rev. Geophys. Space Phys.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/RG025i003p00579· OSTI ID:6495419

Horwitz, J L

The ''core'' of magnetospheric plasma distribution functions is of prime importance in the magnetospheric plasma behavior. For the purposes of this review and because of recent instrumental characteristics, we shall regard the term ''core plasma'' to include ions and electrons with energies less than 50 eV. In the period 1983--1986, several new and important core plasma phenomena and regions have been identified, including: the cleft ion fountain, the plasmaspheric heavy ion torus, core molecular ions, high core plasma densities in the plasma sheet boundary layer, intense transverse heating of core plasmas in the equatorial regions, the low-energy ion transition (LEIT) delineating the plasmaspheric and plasma sheet regions, the supersonic polar wind, toroidal or ring heavy ion distribution functions in the auroral region, conic-to-field-aligned ion signatures of inverted V auroral events, and large-scale electron density structure in the magnetosphere. On the theoretical/modeling side, significant progress has been made on: the effect of hot electrons on the polar wind; simulation of thermal helium heating at the equator; kinetic models of the plasma transport from localized ionospheric regions; time-dependent hydrodynamic models of the polar wind and plasmasphere-ionosphere coupling; studies of the behavior of the plasmaspheric He/sup +/, O/sup + +/ and counterstreaming He/sup +/-H/sup +/; and kinetic models of plasmasphere refilling. In this report, we shall briefly review the progress during the past quadrennium in these and other topics under the general headings: (1) core plasma in the plasmasphere and plasmapause region, (2) core plasma in the polar cleft and polar cap magnetosphere, and (3) core plasma in the auroral and plasma sheet magnetosphere. copyright American Geophysical Union 1987.

• Research Organization: Department of Physics, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama
• OSTI ID: 6495419
• Journal Information: Rev. Geophys. Space Phys.; (United States), Journal Name: Rev. Geophys. Space Phys.; (United States) Vol. 25:3; ISSN RGPSB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AURORAE
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
FUNCTIONS
PLASMA
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMAPAUSE
PLASMASPHERE
POLAR REGIONS
REVIEWS