Submitting Campus
Daytona Beach
Department
Physical Sciences
Document Type
Article
Publication/Presentation Date
2-2012
Abstract/Description
We present results from mesoscale simulations of the magnetospheric cusp region for both strongly northward and strongly southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Simulation results indicate an extended region of depressed magnetic field and strongly enhanced plasma B which exhibits a strong dependence on IMF orientation. These structures correspond to the Cusp Diamagnetic Cavities (CDC’s). The typical features of these CDC’s are generally well reproduced by the simulation. The inner boundaries between the CDC and the magnetosphere are gradual transitions which form a clear funnel shape, regardless of IMF orientation. The outer CDC/magnetosheath boundary exhibits a clear indentation in both the x-z and y-z planes for southward IMF, while it is only indented in the x-z plane for northward, with a convex geometry in the y-z plane. The outer boundary represents an Alfv´enic transition, mostly consistent with a slow-shock, indicating that reconnection plays an important role in structuring the high-altitude cusp region.
Publication Title
Annales Geophysicae
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-30-325-2012
Publisher
European Geosciences Union
Grant or Award Name
NASA grants NNG06GG89Gprog07 and NNX09AI09Gprog2010, NSF grant 0703327
Scholarly Commons Citation
Adamson, E., Otto, A., & Nykyri, K. (2012). 3-D Mesoscale MHD Simulations of Magnetospheric Cusp-Like Configurations: Cusp Diamagnetic Cavities and Boundary Structure. Annales Geophysicae, 30(). https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-30-325-2012
