Reflection of Alfvén waves by non-uniform ionospheres |
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| Authors: | P Ellis DJ Southwood |
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| Institution: | Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ, U.K. |
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| Abstract: | Magnetospheric Alfvén waves are reflected by the ionosphere. We investigate the effect of horizontally varying ionospheric conductivity on the process of Alfvén wave reflection. Four idealised ionospheric models are considered in detail. We find that the reflection process is strongly dependent on the orientation of the wave electric field vector with respect to the boundary between high and low conductivities, and under certain conditions subsidiary Alfvén waves are generated. The field-aligned currents in the subsidiary Alfvén waves serve to close divergent horizontal currents resulting from the non-uniform ionospheric conductivity. The implications for ground-based pulsation studies are discussed. |
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