The Density, Composition, and Temperature Structure of the Inner Magnetosphere: Comparisons of Theory with Observations

这项提议的研究是为了验证一个假设，即磁层等离子体起源于电离层，太阳风提供了能量来源。方法是使用电离层-磁层模型，该模型是作者在几年的时间里开发出来的，并与美国宇航局各种卫星开发的广泛数据库相结合。缩减后的数据已经存在于阿拉巴马大学。将对特定轨道的理论和观测结果进行比较，以确定该模型的有效性。本研究的一个新方面将包括以前研究中没有包括的次要离子He+和N+。早期的研究包括O+的重离子。这项研究的结果将提高对地球磁层等离子体起源的定量理解。

This proposed research is for testing a hypothesis that the magnetospheric plasma originates in the ionosphere and the solar wind provides the source of energy. The approach is to use the ionosphere-magnetosphere model that the authors have developed over several years in conjunction with an extensive database that has been developed from various NASA satellites. The reduced data already exists at the University of Alabama. The comparison between theory and observations for particular orbits will be made to determine how well the model works. A new aspect of this study will include minor ions He+ and N+ which were not included in the previous study. The earlier studies included heavy ions of O+. The results of this study will improve quantitative understanding of the origin of the plasma in the earth's magnetosphere.