The influence of a southward and northward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field on the geomagnetic cut-off of cosmic rays, on the mirror points positions of geomagnetically trapped particles, and on their rate of precipitations in the atmosphere
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Authors
Lemaire, J.F.
Batteux, S.G.
Slypen, I.N.
Discipline
Physical sciences
Subject
Charged particles
Cosmic rays
Geomagnetism
Magnetosphere
Mirrors
Planets
Precipitation (meteorology)
Equitorial distances
Geomagnetic fields
Interplanetary magnetic fields (IMF)
Magnetospheric processes
Magnetic field effects
magnetic field
Audience
Scientific
Date
2005Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
A number of geomagnetic observations indicate that the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) plays a definite role in triggering several magnetospheric processes. In this theoretical study based on the superposition of a dipole geomagnetic field model and an uniform IMF, it is shown that when the northward component of the IMF decreases (dBz/dt < 0), the geomagnetic cut-off surface moves to larger equatorial distances, the altitude of the mirror points of charged particles trapped in the geomagnetic field increases, and the value of their equatorial pitch angle decreases. Furthermore, we show that the loss cone angle of trapped particles decreases when dBz/dt is negative. The southward component of the magnetic field generated by an enhancement of the ring current produces similar effects everywhere inside this ring current loop.
Citation
Lemaire, J.F.; Batteux, S.G.; Slypen, I.N. (2005). The influence of a southward and northward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field on the geomagnetic cut-off of cosmic rays, on the mirror points positions of geomagnetically trapped particles, and on their rate of precipitations in the atmosphere. , Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 67, Issue 7, 719-727, DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2004.09.008.Identifiers
scopus: 2-s2.0-17444366131
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng