Current understanding of the thermal plasma in the atmosphere and its coupling to the ionosphere is reviewed. Existing models appear adequate to explain the gross behavior of the cold thermal plasma, but there remain some vexing problems. Notably, (1) why does the density in flux tubes appear to saturate at lower values than are predicted theoretically, (2) what causes the sunset peak in measured Te, and (3) why does the equatorial plasmapause signature differ in latitude from the ionosphere signatures. The more difficult problem of what happens during the early stages of refilling after a magnetic storm, when the high altitude plasma is likely to be supersonic and collisionless, has received much attention, but the results are not definite. A number of papers have dealt with the interaction of supersonic counterstreaming fluxes and there are now models that can handle the transition from supersonic to subsonic flows although the transition from a collisionless to a collision-dominated plasma remains difficult to deal with.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Models of the plasmaspheric thermal plasma distribution


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1986-01-01



    Type of media :

    Miscellaneous


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English


    Keywords :


    Models of the plasmaspheric thermal plasma distribution

    Richards, P.G. / Torr, D.G. / Horwitz, J.L. et al. | Elsevier | 1987



    Semikinetic modeling of plasma flow on outer plasmaspheric field lines

    Wilson, G.R. / Horwitz, J.L. / Lin, J. | Elsevier | 1993



    Plasmaspheric plumes: Cluster, IMAGE and simulations

    Darrouzet, F. / De Keyser, J. / Decreau, P. M. E. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2006