Dawn-dusk asymmetry in solar wind ion entry and dayside precipitation: Results from large-scale simulations

摘要

We present the results of numerical studies of the interaction of solar wind ions with the dayside magnetospheric boundary for a southward interplanetary magnetic field and two solar wind speeds (250 and 500 km/s) using the results of global magnetohydrodynamics simulations in conjunction with large-scale kinetic calculations. Results of these studies show that a dawn-dusk asymmetry is found in the precipitation of low- to middle-energy ions over the high-latitude dayside magnetosphere. This asymmetry is consistent with statistical studies of DMSP data showing that ion precipitation from the mantle is predominantly seen over the morning and prenoon sector. Analysis of energy-latitude spectra and study of individual particle trajectories from the simulations revealed that low-energy ions can enter the magnetopause at high latitudes in regions where the parallel electric field associated with the magnetopause current is positive and strong enough for the ions to gain energies of the order of the parallel potential drop across the magnetopause. Because the parallel electric field in the Northern Hemisphere is positive in the prenoon sector and negative in the afternoon-evening sector, solar wind ions reaching the magnetopause in these regions are accelerated toward the ionosphere on the dawnside and outward on the duskside, creating the asymmetry in precipitation. The same dawn-dusk asymmetry is found in the Southern Hemisphere because both parallel electric field and magnetic field are reversed in direction.