Theoretical Studies of Solar Wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling on Intermediate Scales

这笔赠款将支持采用分析和数值技术相结合的方法，研究太阳风、磁层和电离层之间的中等尺度耦合。在这些尺度上的耦合是重要和有趣的，主要是因为非理想的MHD过程对动力学的重要性。这笔赠款将涉及三个领域：非线性效应、压缩效应和动力效应。非线性在小尺度电流的动力学中变得相当重要，例如那些与通量转移事件相关的电流。建立了一个在广义几何中描述纵波和横波之间耦合的模型，并用它来研究耦合对场向电流和微脉动的产生的影响。单粒子和集体等离子体动力学的影响将通过测试粒子和自洽等离子体模拟来研究，这些研究将被用来改进这些影响在MHD模型中的包含。最终目标将是将这些效应整合到极光通量管的整体MHD模型中，并了解极光本身。

This grant will support a study of the intermediate scale coupling of the solar wind, magnetosphere and ionosphere by a combination of analytic and numerical techniques. Coupling on these scales is important and interesting, primarily due to the importance of non-ideal MHD processes on the dynamics. The grant will address three areas: nonlinear effects, compressional effects and kinetic effects. Nonlinearities become quite important in the dynamics of small scale currents such as those associated with flux transfer events. A model to describe the coupling between compressional and transverse MHD waves in a generalized geometry will be developed, and used to study the effect coupling may have on the generation of field-aligned currents and micropulsations. The effects of single particle and collective plasma dynamics will be investigated by means of test particle and self-consistent plasma simulation, and these studies will be used to improve the inclusion of these effects on MHD models. The final goal will be an integration of these effects into an overall MHD model of auroral flux tubes and an understanding of the aurora itself.