Imaging of Vector Electric Fields Surrounding Auroral Arcs from Multibeam Incoherent Scatter Radar Measurements.

Abstract:

Evaluating the ionospheric electric fields and current systems surrounding auroral arcs aids in distinguishing physical mechanisms that drive arc generation and current closure. Auroral forms involve spatial scales that are small in comparison with the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere (MIT) system, and yet these forms are thought to be closely tied to the overall system response. Spatially resolved measurements of the horizontal ionospheric current can, in principle, be used to determine the field-aligned currents (FAC) that are responsible for energy transfer between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere/thermosphere, leading to heating and upwelling of the neutral gas and acceleration of ion upflows and outflows. Furthermore, the closure of FACs in the ionosphere regulates modes of magnetospheric convection and substorms.

An algorithm has been developed to image the local structure in the convection electric field using multibeam incoherent scatter radar (ISR) measurements. Given the inherent difficulty of reconstructing vector quantities from line of sight (LOS) velocity measurements, the algorithm's aim is to select from the solution space for the possible field configurations a unique solution for the electric field distribution by constraining the reconstructed electric field to reproduce the LOS measurements within measurement errors while simultaneously minimizing a measure of the field's curvature and absolute gradient. Using the method of Lagrange multipliers, the algorithm regularizes the underdetermined problem defined by the LOS radar velocity measurements and guarantees a unique solution when the average measurement error is smaller than the average measurement amplitude.

The algorithm is tested on a variety of simulated fields in a sensitivity study to determine the extent to which the solution depends on the a priori assumptions and the observation geometry. In addition, a case study of a quiescent auroral arc observed by the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar is presented, in which the algorithm is used to analyze the flow structure around the arc to infer currents and address the causal mechanisms thereof.