Abstract
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 36,
L13101,
5 PP., 2009
doi:10.1029/2009GL039045
Magnetospheric cavity modes driven by solar wind dynamic pressure fluctuations
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
We present results from Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (LFM) global, three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction. We use these simulations to investigate the role that solar wind dynamic pressure fluctuations play in the generation of magnetospheric ultra-low frequency (ULF) pulsations. The simulations presented in this study are driven with idealized solar wind input conditions. In four of the simulations, we introduce monochromatic ULF fluctuations in the upstream solar wind dynamic pressure. In the fifth simulation, we introduce a continuum of ULF frequencies in the upstream solar wind dynamic pressure fluctuations. In this numerical experiment, the idealized nature of the solar wind driving conditions allows us to study the magnetospheric response to only a fluctuating upstream dynamic pressure, while holding all other solar wind driving parameters constant. The simulation results suggest that ULF fluctuations in the solar wind dynamic pressure can drive magnetospheric ULF pulsations in the electric and magnetic fields on the dayside. Moreover, the simulation results suggest that when the driving frequency of the solar wind dynamic pressure fluctuations matches one of the natural frequencies of the magnetosphere, magnetospheric cavity modes can be energized.
Received 8 May 2009; accepted 2 June 2009; published 1 July 2009.
Citation: (2009), Magnetospheric cavity modes driven by solar wind dynamic pressure fluctuations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L13101, doi:10.1029/2009GL039045.
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