Self-Consistent Evolution of the Photoelectron-Driven Polar Wind from Ionospheric to Magnetospheric Altitudes Including the Effects of Wave-Particle Interactions

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

One of the major mechanisms for coupling the ionosphere and the magnetosphere is through ion outflows. On the dayside, the primary driver of the polar wind is photoelectrons. This project will investigate the evolution of the polar wind, using a hybrid simulation code that can take into account the collisional effects of the photoelectrons and wave-particle interactions. The self-consistent effects on the polar wind due to particle precipitation from the magnetosphere will also be included. The results from the theoretical and modeling work will be compared with data from the Akebono and POLAR satellites. The results will advance our understanding of ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling, which has an important role in the dynamics of the magnetosphere and space weather.