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A Combined effect of the Earth's magnetic dipole tilt and IMF By in controlling auroral electron precipitation
  • Jussi Ananias Laitinen,
  • Lauri Holappa,
  • Heikki Vanhamäki
Jussi Ananias Laitinen
University of Oulu

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Lauri Holappa
University of Oulu
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Heikki Vanhamäki
University of Oulu
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Abstract

Precipitation of auroral electrons is usually assumed to be symmetric with respect to the sign of the dawn-dusk (By) component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). This is also the case in most currently used precipitation models, which parameterize solar wind driving by empirical coupling functions. However, recent studies have showed that geomagnetic activity is significantly modulated by the signs and amplitudes of IMF By and the Earth’s dipole tilt angle $\Psi$. This so called explicit By dependence is not yet included in any current precipitation models. In this paper, we quantify this By dependence for auroral electron precipitation for the first time. We use precipitation measurements of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor J instruments from years 1995-2022. We show that the dawnside electron precipitation at energies 13.9-30 keV is greater at auroral latitudes for opposite signs of By and $\Psi$ in both hemispheres, while the dusk sector is mostly unaffected by By and $\Psi$. For energies below 6.5 keV the By dependence is strong poleward of the auroral oval in the summer hemisphere, also exhibiting a strong dawn-dusk asymmetry. We also show that By dependence of precipitation modulates ionospheric conductance, which has important implications for solar wind response of ionospheric currents.
06 Sep 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
11 Sep 2023Published in ESS Open Archive