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Ann. Geophys., 22, 1047-1052, 2004
www.ann-geophys.net/22/1047/2004/
© European Geosciences Union 2004
The solar wind plasma density control of night-time auroral particle precipitation
V. G. Vorobjev, B. V. Rezhenov, and O. I. Yagodkina
Polar Geophysical Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Apatity, Murmansk region, 184200, Russia
Abstract. DMSP F6 and F7 spacecraft observations of the average electron and ion
energy, and energy fluxes in different night-time precipitation regions for the whole of
1986 were used to examine the precipitation features associated with solar wind density
changes. It was found that during magnetic quietness |AL|<100nT), the enhancement of
average ion fluxes was observed at least two times, along with the solar wind plasma
density increase from 2 to 24cm–3. More pronounced was the ion flux enhancement that occurred
in the b2i–b4s and b4s–b5 regions, which are approximately corresponding to the statistical
auroral oval and map to the magnetospheric plasma sheet tailward of the isotropy boundary.
The average ion energy decrease of about 2–4kev was registered simultaneously with this
ion flux enhancement. The results verify the occurrence of effective penetration of the solar
wind plasma into the magnetospheric tail plasma sheet.
Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere, particle
precipitation) – Magnetospheric physics (solar windmagnetosphere
interaction)
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