Energetic Particle Precipitation into the High-Latitude Ionosphere and the Auroral Electrojets. 3. Characteristics of Electron Precipitation into the Morning Sector Auroral Oval

摘要

Data from the University of Alberta meridian line of magnetometers are utilized to define the poleward and equatorward borders of the westward electrojet in the morning sector. Soft particle spectrometer data from the Isis 2 polar orbiting satellite are organized in the framework of the westward electrojet for cases where the satellite orbital path took it close to the meridian line of magnetometers. The results suggest that the Harang discontinuity does not signify any significant asymmetry in convection drift paths in the magnetosphere and that asymmetries noted in ionospheric current flow and auroral luminosity are due solely to asymmetries in the energies to which electrons may be accelerated in the morning compared to the evening sector. A model of plasma convective flow in the magnetosphere is presented which is consistent with the observations reported in this paper.