Plasma transport in the auoral return current region

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:7105987

Ganguli, S B

Multimoment time dependent and steady state multifluid plasma simulations have been performed to study the dynamic of auoral field line plasma in the presence of large scale field-aligned return currents. This work is intended to contribute to the development of improved fluid models for use in the study of large scale magnetospheric ionospheric dynamics. Also, a considerable amount of work has been done in the upward current region, but the physics of plasma transport in the return current regions has not been thoroughly explored. The theoretical formulations are based on the 13 and 16-moment systems of transport equations. In the polar wind, an electron-temperature anisotropy develops above 2500 km altitude with T/sub perpendicular/ > T/sub parallel/. The hydrogen ion temperature shows reverse anisotropy, i.e., T/sub parallel/ > T/sub perpendicular/. Results are in good agreement with previous theoretical studies of the polar wind and recent experimental observations. The time-dependent simulations show the effects of change in the polar wind plasma dynamics due to the sudden application of current.

• Research Organization: Boston Coll., Chestnut Hill, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7105987
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANISOTROPY
AURORAL ZONES
CURRENTS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
GEOMAGNETIC FIELD
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PLASMA DRIFT
SIMULATION