Watt Clare E J, Rankin Robert
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Jan 30;102(4):045002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.045002. Epub 2009 Jan 26.
Results from 1D Vlasov drift-kinetic plasma simulations reveal how and where auroral electrons are accelerated along Earth's geomagnetic field. In the warm plasma sheet, electrons become trapped in shear Alfvén waves, preventing immediate wave damping. As waves move to regions with larger v(Te)/v(A), their parallel electric field decreases, and the trapped electrons escape their influence. The resulting electron distribution functions compare favorably with in situ observations, demonstrating for the first time a self-consistent link between Alfvén waves and electrons that form aurora.
一维弗拉索夫漂移动力学等离子体模拟结果揭示了极光电子如何以及在何处沿地球磁场加速。在温暖的等离子体片中，电子被困在剪切阿尔文波中，阻止了波的即时阻尼。当波移动到v(Te)/v(A)较大的区域时，其平行电场减小，被困电子逃脱其影响。所得的电子分布函数与原位观测结果吻合良好，首次证明了阿尔文波与形成极光的电子之间的自洽联系。
