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parallel electric fields in discrete arcs
Author(s) -
Ergun R. E.,
Carlson C. W.,
McFadden J. P.,
Mozer F. S.,
Strangeway R. J.
Publication year - 2000
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 - 10.1029/2000gl003819
Subject(s) - electric field , physics , computational physics , electric current , magnetic field , geophysics , quantum mechanics
We present a large‐scale model of the parallel electric fields in the upward current region of the aurora. The model, called the “Transition Layer Model”, applies to intense, discrete arcs. It is based on 1‐D spatial, 2‐D velocity static Vlasov simulations and observations from the Fast Auroral Snapshot (FAST) satellite. The model depicts three regions along the magnetic field that are separated by two transition layers which contain parallel electric fields. The current‐voltage properties closely follow the Knight relation.