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Solar wind energy input to the magnetosheath and at the magnetopause
Author(s) -
Pulkkinen T. I.,
Dimmock A. P.,
Osmane A.,
Nykyri K.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl064226
Subject(s) - magnetopause , magnetosheath , solar wind , interplanetary magnetic field , physics , poynting vector , geophysics , space weather , computational physics , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , magnetic field , quantum mechanics
Using Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms observations, we show that the efficiency of the energy entry through the magnetopause as measured by the Poynting vector normal component depends on the combination of the solar wind speed and the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF): Most efficient energy transfer occurs when the IMF B Z is only moderately negative, and the solar wind speed is high. This means that for the same level of solar wind driver parameters (electric field, epsilon, or other), different combinations of V and B Z will produce different driving at the magnetopause. The effect is strongest for low to moderate driving conditions, while the influence is smaller for the intense space weather events.