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Heat flux in magnetospheric convection: A calculation based on adiabatic drift theory
Author(s) -
Liu W. William
Publication year - 2006
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 - 10.1029/2006gl027218
Subject(s) - adiabatic process , convection , physics , eulerian path , heat flux , flux (metallurgy) , mechanics , classical mechanics , thermodynamics , heat transfer , lagrangian , materials science , theoretical physics , metallurgy
Empiric evidence and theoretical argument indicate that magnetospheric convection is globally sub‐adiabatic. Reconciliation of the sub‐adiabaticity with the underlying adiabatic particle drifts is a problem that has not been conclusively demonstrated. In this paper, through an ensemble average, we show that the Rice Convection Model contains a heat flux due to thermal inequilibrium between two adjacent flux tubes of equal volume. The averaged theory is based on field variables obeying a set of partial differential equations (Eulerian formulation), instead of conservative variables advecting with fluid elements (Langrangian formulation). We apply the theory to investigate a one‐dimensional case of subadiabatic variation of thermodynamic properties in the plasma sheet.