Initial results obtained with the coupled OpenGGCM-CRCM with pressure feedback: 27 March 2007 THEMIS substorm event

We present initial simulation results of the 27 March 2007 THEMIS substorm event obtained with OpenGGCM coupled with the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM), which self-consistently solves the kinetic equation of ring current protons. The two-way coupling is done by implementing pressure feedback form CRCM into OpenGGCM. CRCM receives from the OpenGGCM the ionospheric potential at its outer boundary, the flux tube volume, plasma temperature and density, and several other parameters. In turn, the CRCM returns the plasma pressure and density to the OpenGGCM. In the regions where both models overlap the CRCM plasma pressure and density are used to push the OpenGGCM pressure and density towards the respective values computed by CRCM. In these regions, the CRCM values are considered more accurate since the CRCM includes the proper particle drifts, along with the relevant loss processes. We compare our model results with previous studies which used either only global MHD modeling or only standalone ring current models to simulate disturbed-time events. In the case of an intense storm we observe that the boundary conditions provided by the OpenGGCM greatly influence the dynamics of the CRCM ring current proton flux. The during the substorm event simulation we observe particle inflow from the tail region which is consistent with previous studies.