Collaborative Research: Space Weather--Self-Consistent Modeling of Inner Magnetosphere Under Enhanced Convections

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will develop a self-consistent model of the near-Earth portion of the plasma sheet. It will specify the particle distributions, the effects of the plasma sheet on the magnetic field, and the effects of the plasma sheet on the formation of the ring current during magnetic storms. The approach will be to use test particle tracing techniques in conjunction with an MHD code. The technique will couple the particle tracing with the MHD modeling in a way that will produce a self-consistent model without using the basic MHD approximations that are invalid within the inner plasma sheet. This approach has already been used in modeling the quiet-time plasma sheet and the method will now be extended to conditions of enhanced convection, including the growth phase of substorms and convection bays (steady magnetospheric convection). During the later stages of the project the model will be extended beyond a 2-D plasma sheet model to include field-aligned currents within the plasma sheet.