The appearance of nonuniform electric fields and currents associated with auroral arcs
Abstract
An analysis is presented of the excitation of Alfven disturbances in the magnetosphere associated with intense inclined (almost-field-aligned) currents, leading to the generation of auroral arcs. The inverse effect of the emitted Alfven waves on the instability is examined, and characteristic scales of nonuniformity corresponding to the greatest growth are determined. Theoretical results are found to agree well with experimental data.
- Publication:
-
Geomagnetism and Aeronomy
- Pub Date:
- June 1983
- Bibcode:
- 1983Ge&Ae..23..440K
- Keywords:
-
- Atmospheric Electricity;
- Auroral Arcs;
- Electric Current;
- Magnetospheric Instability;
- Boundary Value Problems;
- Field Aligned Currents;
- High Temperature Plasmas;
- Magnetohydrodynamic Waves;
- Plasma Layers;
- Wave Excitation;
- Geophysics