Current Driven Double Layers on Auroral Field Lines

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The high latitude auroral zone is one of the most complex and interesting areas in the Earth's magnetosphere. The existence of parallel electric fields in this region with a concomitant level of plasma turbulence presents a significant research challenge. The principal theories on parallel electric field generation (and the associate currents) involve either (1) particle motion, or (2) Alfven waves. This project is interested in whether field-aligned currents in the auroral acceleration region carried by shear Alfven waves can lead to the formation of quasi-stationary field-aligned electric fields and double layers. The project will be a detailed test of the Alfven wave model for generating small scale field-aligned currents and auroral particle acceleration. ***