Time-dependent simulations of the global polar wind |
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| Institution: | 1. Engineering Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, United States\n;2. Physics Department, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States\n;3. Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States\n;4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, United States;1. Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR) Institute, LPAP, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium;2. Department of Physics, Lancaster University, United Kingdom;3. Institut für Geophysik und Meteorologie, Universität zu Köln, Cologne, Germany |
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| Abstract: | It has been clearly established that there is a substantial outflow of ionospheric plasma from the Earth's ionosphere in both the northern and southern polar regions. The outflow consists of both light thermal ions (H+ and He+) and an array of energized ions (NO+, O2+, N2+, O+, N+, He+, and H+). If the outflow is driven by thermal pressure gradients in the ionosphere, the outflow is called the “classical” polar wind. On the other hand, if the outflow is driven by energization processes either in the auroral oval or at high altitudes in the polar cap, the outflow is called the “generalized” polar wind. In both cases, the field-aligned outflow occurs in conjunction with magnetospheric convection, which causes the plasma to drift into and out of the sunlit hemisphere, cusp, polar cap, nocturnal auroral oval, and main trough. Because the field-aligned and horizontal motion are both important, three-dimensional (3-D) time-dependent models of the ionosphere–polar wind system are needed to properly describe the flow. Also, as the plasma executes field-aligned and horizontal motion, charge exchange reactions of H+ and O+ with the background neutrals (H and O) act to produce low-energy neutrals that flow in all directions (the neutral polar wind). This review presents recent simulations of the “global” ionosphere–polar wind system, including the classical, generalized, and neutral polar winds. The emphasis is on displaying the 3-D and dynamical character of the polar wind. |
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