Relative Contributions of Ring Current Plasma Transport Mechanisms in the Magnetotail

Abstract:

There currently is considerable scientific debate about the mechanisms of the transport of plasma to the inner magnetosphere by processes in the magnetotail, primarily the relative contributions of steady convection, bursty bulk flows and induced electric fields associated with dipolarization events. For this study, the OpenGGCM global magnetosphere MHD model, coupled to the RCM kinetic ring current model, is employed to simulate multiple geomagnetic storms with a variety of solar wind driving conditions and correlate the various mechanisms with inward flow across boundaries in the plasma sheet.