Open AccessMultiple inverted‐V structures and hot plasma pressure gradient mechanism of plasma stratification
Author(s) -
Antonova E. E.,
Stepanova M. V.,
Teltzov M. V.,
Tverskoy B. A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/97ja03090
Subject(s) - plasma , ionosphere , stratification (seeds) , plasma sheet , magnetosphere , physics , atmospheric pressure plasma , magnetosphere particle motion , geophysics , pressure gradient , computational physics , mechanics , magnetic field , seed dormancy , germination , botany , quantum mechanics , dormancy , biology
A mechanism of plasma stratification within the inner plasma sheet is discussed. It is suggested that plasma pressure is isoptropic and particle motion is unmagnetized for the spatial scales in which the structures are formed. The solution of the magnetosphere‐ionosphere interaction problem shows that upward field‐aligned current may split into separate structures. The number of structures formed is determined by a parameter which depends on upward field‐aligned current density, field‐aligned current band width, hot magnetospheric ion temperature, and height‐integrated Pedersen ionospheric conductivity. The Intercosmos‐Bulgaria‐1300 satellite base data has been used to identify events of multiple inverted‐V structures. It is shown that the hot stratification plasma mechanism offers a good description of the number of observed structures.