Geomagnetic field variation during winter storm at localized southern and northern high latitude

This paper presents the effect of geomagnetic storm on geomagnetic field components at Southern (Maitri) and Northern (Kiruna) Hemispheres. The Indian Antarctic Station Maitri is located at geom. long. 66.03° S; 53.21° E whereas Kiruna is located at geom. long. 67.52° N; 23.38° E. We have studied all the geomagnetic storms that occurred during winter season of the year 2004–2005. We observed that at Southern Hemisphere the variation is large as compared to the Northern Hemisphere. Geomagnetic field components vary when the interplanetary magnetic field is oriented in southward direction. Geomagnetic field components vary in the main phase of the ring current. Due to southward orientation of vertical component of IMF reconnection takes place all across the dayside that transports plasma and magnetic flux which create the geomagnetic field variation.     

The consequences of high latitude particle precipitation on global thermospheric dynamics

A previous comparison of experimental measurements of thermospheric winds with simulations using a global self-consistent three-dimensional time-dependent model confirmed a necessity for a high latitude source of energy and momentum acting in addition to solar u.v. and e.u.v. heating. During quiet geomagnetic conditions, the convective electric field over the polar cap and auroral oval seemed able to provide adequate momentum input to explain the thermospheric wind distribution observed in these locations. However, it seems unable to provide adequate heating, by the Joule mechanism, to complete the energy budget of the thermosphere and, more importantly, unable to provide the high latitude input required to explain mean meridional winds at mid-latitudes. In this paper we examine the effects of low energy particle precipitation on thermospheric dynamics and energy budget. Modest fluxes over the polar cap and auroral oval, of the order of 0.4 erg cm ⁻²/s, are consistent with satellite observations of the particles themselves and with photometer observations of the OI and OII airglow emissions. Such particle fluxes, originating in the dayside magnetosheath cusp region and in the nightside central plasma sheet, heat the thermosphere and modify mean meridional winds at mid-latitudes without enhancing the OI 557.7 line, or the ionization of the lower thermosphere (and thus enhancing the auroral electrojets), neither of which would be consistent with observations during quiet geomagnetic conditions.     

Effects of interplanetary magnetic field and magnetospheric substorm variations on the dayside aurora

Photometric observations of dayside auroras are compared with simultaneous measurements of geomagnetic disturbances from meridian chains of stations on the dayside and on the nightside to document the dynamics of dayside auroras in relation to local and global disturbances. These observations are related to measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) from the satellites ISEE-1 and 3. It is shown that the dayside auroral zone shifts equatorward and poleward with the growth and decay of the circum-oval/polar cap geomagnetic disturbance and with negative and positive changes in the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field (B_z). The geomagnetic disturbance associated with the auroral shift is identified as the DP2 mode. In the post-noon sector the horizontal disturbance vector of the geomagnetic field changes from southward to northward with decreasing latitude, thereby changing sign near the center of the oval precipitation region. Discrete auroral forms are observed close to or equatorward of the ΔH = 0 line which separates positive and negative H-component deflections. This reversal moves in latitude with the aurora and it probably reflects a transition of the electric field direction at the polar cap boundary. Thus, the discrete auroral forms observed on the dayside are in the region of sunward-convecting field lines. A model is proposed to explain the equatorward and poleward movement of the dayside oval in terms of a dayside current system which is intensified by a southward movement of the IMF vector. According to this model, the Pedersen component of the ionospheric current is connected with the magnetopause boundary layer via field-aligned current (FAC) sheets. Enhanced current intensity, corresponding to southward auroral shift, is consistent with increased energy extraction from the solar wind. In this way the observed association of DP2 current system variations and auroral oval expansion/contraction is explained as an effect of a global, ‘direct’ response of the electromagnetic state of the magnetosphere due to the influence of the solar wind magnetic field. Estimates of electric field, current, and the rate of Joule heat dissipation in the polar cap ionosphere are obtained from the model.     

The ionospheric effects in D-layer and solar proton precipitation zones during the 16 February 1984 event

The results of the geophysical and VLF (10–16 kHz) radio propagation measurements on the net of observatories during the solar proton event on 16 February 1984 are analysed. It is shown that the abnormal ionization region caused by solar protons consisted of two parts. One of them was the direct access zone in the middle and morning side of the polar cap, the other was the precipitation region of the quasi-trapped particles in the mid-day and evening sectors of the auroral zone. The probable profiles of the lower ionosphere electron density are determined from the VLF and satellite data of the energetic spectra at the maximum penetration. It is shown that the effective electron concentration at the height 45 km was close to 10³ cm⁻³.     

Small-scale auroral arc distortions

Small-scale spatially periodic distortions of auroral forms have been studied utilizing low-light level television observations made at various locations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The most commonly observed features were folds and vortex-like curl formations. The curls, identified here with the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability due to fluid shear, invariably had a counterclockwise rotational shape and motion when viewed in a direction anti-parallel to the Earth's magnetic field. The typical measured wavelength (5 km) and measured growth rate (4.2 sec⁻¹) were used to evaluate the Kelvin-Helmholtz dispersion relation for the apparent shear ω_s = ∂ ν_x/ ∂y (28 sec⁻¹). The apparent horizontal velocities of both folds (0–5 km/sec) and curls (0–22 km/sec) were invariably observed to be counterclockwise with respect to the multiple arc centre when viewed antiparallel to B. Consistent agreement between rotational shape and rotational motion suggests that the apparent growth rate and the apparent horizontal velocities closely approximate the actual values. If the shear results from E×B drifts in a space charge field, the calculated value for ω_s, implies an unneutralized electron density 0–1 cm⁻³ and a ΔE across the arc element 500mV/m. The velocity measurements indicate that the ΔE values for individual elements can combine to produce transient electric fields at the edges of multiple arcs as high as 1000 mV/m.     

Long-term Spatial and Temporal Variations of Aurora Borealis Events in the Period 1700 – 1905

Catalogues and other records of aurora-borealis events were used to study the long-term spatial and temporal variation of these phenomena in the period from 1700 to 1905 in the Northern Hemisphere. For this purpose, geographic and geomagnetic coordinates were assigned to approximately 27?000 auroral events with more than 80?000 observations. They were analyzed separately in three large-scale areas: i) Europe and North Africa, ii) North America, and iii) Asia. There was a clear need to fill some gaps existing in the records so as to have a reliable proxy of solar activity, especially during the 18th century. In order to enhance the long-term variability, an 11-year smoothing window was applied to the data. Variations in the cumulative numbers of auroral events with latitude (in both geographic and geomagnetic coordinates) were used to discriminate between the two main solar sources: coronal mass ejections and high-speed streams from coronal holes. The characteristics of the associated auroras correlate differently with the solar-activity cycle.     

Neutral and ion-exospheres in the solar wind with applications to mercury

A model of planetary neutral and ion-exospheres in the solar wind is formulated for weak or lunar like solar-wind interaction with a planet. The neutral exosphere model allows for density and temperature variations and for rotation at the exobase. The ion-exosphere is produced by ionization of the neutral exosphere in the solar wind and its density distribution is obtained by solving the continuity equation in the drift approximation. Applying to Mercury a surface temperature distribution inferred from infra-red data and a vanishing bound neutral flux at the base, He and He⁺ density distributions are found. When the He atmosphere of Mercury is due entirely to the surface bombardment by solar wind He⁺⁺, the resulting He⁺ density is found to vary from 1.5 × 10⁻¹ to 10⁻³ cm⁻³ over the range 1.5–5 planetocentric radii on the dayside. These densities are found to be detectable by typical solar-wind plasma instruments. The possible effects of cyclotron-resonant scattering by interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations are examined and shown to be negligible. An electromagnetic plasma instability, triggered by the birth of ions in the exosphere, is shown to be important for the thermalization of the energy mode transverse to the interplanetary magnetic field, allowing more ions to be detected by solar-wind ion probes.     

OH masers in W 33A

This paper presents observations of OH maser lines of W 33A for the transitions ²Π_3/2, J = 3/2, F = 1 → 1 and F = 2 → 2. Two models, a thin tube and a sphere, were used for modelling the masing region and a molecular hydrogen density of about 10⁷ cm⁻³ was obtained. To give a maser photon emission of the order of 10⁴⁶ s⁻¹, both models require a pump rate of 1 OH cm⁻³s⁻¹, while the sphere model requires a higher pump efficiency.     

Nightside ionosphere of Venus

Venera 9, 10 measurements of the nightside ionospheric profile and the night airglow were used for investigating ionosphere formation processes. The upper ionospheric layer may be formed by HeI 584 Å radiation; the lower layer by meteorite ionization. Upper limits on the electron energy flux, <4 × 10⁸eV cm⁻² s⁻¹, the helium ion flux <10⁷ cm⁻² s⁻¹, the nitric oxide mixing ratio, <1.5 × 10⁻⁴ and the atomic sulphur mixing ratio, <10⁻⁶, are deduced for ionospheric altitudes.     

The onset time interval of geomagnetic disturbances in the conjugate areas

The onset time interval of geomagnetic disturbances, as deduced from the numerous cases of rapid changes of K-indices over a cycle in solar activity, was studied for two conjugate auroral stations, Macquarie Island and College. There is a distinct peak in the occurrence number of the disturbances for both stations at an interval 09.00–12.00 U.T., which is close to the local midnight at College but is in the pre-midnight sector at Macquarie Island. For comparison, a similar study was applied to the magnetic data obtained at two more auroral stations, Kiruna and Sodankyla. The onset time of the disturbances for these stations was most frequent at 18.00–21.00 U.T., centered at the conjugate midnight of Kiruna and Sodankyla in the Southern Hemisphere but well ahead of the local midnight of the stations themselves. The specific diurnal occurrences of the disturbances at all four auroral stations are consistent with a difference in the geometry between the southern and northern auroral ovals. It appears that the prevailing onset time of geomagnetic disturbances is associated with the time when both conjugate stations (or conjugate locations) are within the auroral oval and thus accessible to a direct particle influx from the Earth's magnetotail.     

North-south asymmetries of solar particle events in upper stratospheric ozone

Stratospheric ozone depressions, following intense solar particle events (SPE) observed by the backscattered ultraviolet (BUV) experiment on the Nimbus-4 satellite, indicate the existence of distinct asymmetries between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. These asymmetries are observed in the magnitude of the depressions above the 5-mb level, their temporal variations, and the spatial (i.e., latitude and longitude) dependence of these variations. Possible causes of asymmetries, shown by two events on 4 August 1972 and 25 January 1971, can be attributed to: (1) tilt of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) with respect to the Earth's dipole magnetic field which influences the precipitation of energetic solar particles into the polar atmospheres; (2) differences in ozone chemistry caused by the large change in atmospheric temperature between summer and winter hemispheres; (3) seasonal differences of the stratosphere's dynamic states which are affected by upward propagating planetary waves in winter in contrast to the relatively undisturbed zonal flow in summer; (4) topographic asymmetry between Northern and Southern Hemispheres.These effects are shown by three-dimensional plots of the events in geographic coordinates and by color contour plots of the stratospheric ozone distributions in geomagnetic and geographic polar coordinates, respectively.     

An auroral F-region study using in situ measurements by the Atmosphere Explorer-C satellite

On 14 July 1974 the Atmosphere Explorer-C satellite flew through an aurora at F-region altitudes just after local midnight. The effects of the particle influx are clearly evident in the ion densities, the 6300 Å airglow, and the electron and ion temperatures. This event provided an opportunity to study the agreement between the observed ion densities and those calculated from photochemical theory using in situ measurements of such atmospheric parameters as the neutral densities and the differential electron energy spectra obtained along the satellite track. Good agreement is obtained for the ions O₂⁺, NO⁺ and N₂⁺ using photochemical theory and measured rate constants and electron impact cross sections. Atomic nitrogen densities are calculated from the observed [NO⁺]/[O₂⁺] ratio. In the region of most intense electron fluxes (20 erg cm⁻² sec⁻¹) at 280 km, the N density is found to be between 2 and 7 × 10⁷ cm⁻³. The resulting N densities are found to account for approx. 60% of the production of N⁺ through electron impact on N and the resonant charge exchange of O⁺(²P) with N(⁴S). This reaction also provides a significant source of O(¹S) in the aurora at F-region altitudes. In the region of intense fast electron influx, the reaction with atomic nitrogen is found to be the main loss of O⁺(²P).     

Properties of the infrared dark cloud G79.2+0.38

The MSX infrared dark cloud G79.2+0.38 has been observed over a 11′×′ region simultaneously in the J=1-0 rotational transition lines of the ¹²CO and its isotopic molecules ¹³CO and ¹⁸CO. The dense molecular cores defined by the C¹⁸O line are found to be associated with the two high-extinction patches shown in the MSX A-band image. The two dense cores have the column density N (H₂) (5 – 12) × 10²² cm⁻² and the mean number density n (3 ± 1) × 10⁴ cm⁻³. Their sizes are 1.7 and 1.2 pc in ¹³CO(1-0) line, 1.2 and 0.6 pc in C¹⁸O(1-0) line, respectively. The masses of these cloud cores are estimated to be in the range from 2 × 10² to 2 × 10³ M. The profile of radial mean density of the cloud core can be described by the exponential function ¯n(p) p^{−0.34±0.02}. Compared with the cases of typical optical dark clouds, the abundances of the CO isotopic molecules ¹³CO and C¹⁸O in this MSX infrared dark cloud appear to be depleted by a factor of 4–11, but at present there is no evidence for any obvious variation of the relative abundance ratio X_13/18 between ¹³CO and C¹⁸O with the column density.     

Electron precipitation equatorward of the auroral oval and the mantle aurora in the midday sector

In the midday sector, the hard electron precipitation and the associated patchy aurora at geomagnetic latitude ～65° are the only auroral features (? 20 keV) located equatorward of the dayside auroral oval during intense and moderately disturbed geomagnetic conditions. We identify the patchy luminosity in the midday and late morning sectors as the active mantle aurora. The mantle aurora was found by Sanford (1964) using the IGY-IGC auroral patrol spectrographs and which was thought to be non-visual. The precipitating electrons reside mostly at energies greater than several keV with an energy flux of ? 0.1 erg cm^?2 s^?1 sr^?1 during geomagnetic active periods. This hard precipitation occurs in a region which is asymmetric in L.T. with respect to the noon meridian. The region extends from the morning sector to only early afternoon (13–14 M.L.T.) along the geomagnetic latitude circle of about 65–70°. The model calculation indicates that the mantle aurora is produced by the precipitation of the energetic electrons which drift azimuthally from the plasma sheet at the midnight sector to the dayside magnetopause during magnetospheric substorms.     

Boundary layer plasmas as a source for high-latitude, early afternoon, auroral arcs

Simultaneous measurements of hot boundary layer plasma from PROGNOZ-7 and particle precipitation from the TIROS/NOAA satellite in nearly magnetically conjugate regions have been used to study the dynamo process responsible for the formation of high latitude, early afternoon, auroral arcs.

Characteristic for the PROGNOZ-7 observations in the dayside boundary layer at high latitudes is the frequent occurrence of regions with injected magnetosheath plasma embedded in a “halo” of antisunward flowing magnetosphere plasma. The injected magnetosheath plasma have several features which indicate that it also acts as a local source of EMF in the boundary layer. The process resembles that of a local MHD dynamo driven by the excess drift velocity of the injected magnetosheath plasma relative to the background magnetospheric plasma.

The dynamo region is capable of driving field-aligned currents that couple to the ionosphere, where the upward current is associated with the high latitude auroral arcs.

We demonstrate that the large-scale morphology as well as the detailed data intercomparison between PROGNOZ-7 and TIROS-N both agree well with a local injection of magnetosheath plasma into the dayside boundary layer as the main dynamo process powering the high-latitude, early afternoon auroral arcs.     

Chemical models for the contracting W3 IRS4

We have studied the chemical evolution in the central core of a contracting cloud representing W3 IRS4. We modified the equation of temperature to satisfy the physical conditions of W3 IRS4. The chemical rate equations and the hydrodynamics are integrated simultaneously. The contraction is followed from a very low density of n = 10 cm⁻³ to high core density of n = 10⁶ cm⁻³. The chemical evolution is studied for various chemical conditions, including both the effects of varying cosmic ray ionization rate and the effect of ion–dipole molecule collisions.

The main results by using the more extensive chemical network with the most updating reaction rates show that the calculated fractional abundances are in agreement with observation at intermediate and enhanced cosmic ray ionization rate at high depletion of elemental atoms.     

The insensitivity of the cosmic ray galactic anisotropy to heliomagnetic polarity reversals

Using the cosmic ray sidereal and anti-sidereal diurnal variations observed underground in London and Hobart during the period 1958–1983, it is demonstrated that: (1) the phase changes of the apparent sidereal diurnal variation observed only in the Northern Hemisphere cannot be attributed to the change of the heliomagnetospheric modulation of galactic cosmic ray anisotropy caused by the polarity reversal of the solar magnetic field, but that they are due to the fluctuation of the spurious sidereal variation produced from the anisotropy responsible for the solar semi-diurnal variation; (2) the spurious sidereal variation can be eliminated from the apparent variation by using the observed anti-sidereal diurnal variation; and (3) after the elimination, the sidereal diurnal variations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres almost coincide with each other and are stationary throughout the period, regardless of the polarity reversal of the heliomagnetosphere. The origin of the corrected sidereal variation is discussed.     

A possible gas for solar neutrino spectroscopy

We discuss the possibility of using pure CF₄ to fill a 2000 m³ Time Projection Chamber in order to detect the solar neutrinos through the elastic scattering v_ee⁻ → v_ee⁻, with the threshold of 100 keV on the kinetic energy of the recoiling electron. In a volume of 2000 m³ of CF₄ at normal pressure and room temperature, which corresponds to a mass of 7.4 ton, we expect ~ 3300 of such events per year. The detector can give the spectrum of the low energy neutrinos from the Sun and it can identify solar neutrinos of different origin: pp, ⁷Be, and, eventually, ⁸B. We find that ¹⁴C is a possible severe source of background: it is necessary to have a ratio ¹⁴C/¹²C lower than 10⁻¹⁹ in order to be able to identify the pp neutrinos.     

Study of Distribution and Asymmetry of Solar Active Prominences during Solar Cycle 23

In this article we present the results of a study of the spatial distribution and asymmetry of solar active prominences (SAP) for the period 1996 through 2007 (solar cycle 23). For more meaningful statistical analysis we analyzed the distribution and asymmetry of SAP in two subdivisions viz. Group1 (ADF, APR, DSF, CRN, CAP) and Group2 (AFS, ASR, BSD, BSL, DSD, SPY, LPS). The North – South (N – S) latitudinal distribution shows that the SAP events are most prolific in the 21° to 30° slice in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres; the East – West (E – W) longitudinal distribution study shows that the SAP events are most prolific (best observable) in the 81° to 90° slice in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. It was found that the SAP activity during this cycle is low compared to previous solar cycles. The present study indicates that during the rising phase of the cycle the number of SAP events are roughly equal in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. However, activity in the Southern Hemisphere has been dominant since 1999. Our statistical study shows that the N – S asymmetry is more significant then the E – W asymmetry.     

Observational features of field line resonances excited by solar wind pressure variations on 4 September 1984

In the course of the magnetic storm of 4 September 1984, after an inverse sudden impulse (SI), geomagnetic pulsations in the Pc5-frequency range were observed at magnetometer stations in the local evening sector. They occurred at L-values of 6, and lasted for several hours, their period increasing from about 320 to 550 s. In this study, two events of enhanced activity are discussed in some detail. During the 16:00 U.T. event, a favourable position of the AMPTE/IRM spacecraft allows conjugate observations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and in the magnetosphere. This constellation permits a precise determination of the wave mode. During a later intensification around 18:00 U.T., the AMPTE/CCE spacecraft near local noon monitored poloidal waves, obviously driving the pulsations on the ground. Generally, the observations are consistent with the theory of field line resonance. They are interpreted as being excited by pressure variations in the solar wind. The hydromagnetic cavity mode is assumed to link the magnetopause surface motions to the field line resonances.