Birth and life of auroral arcs embedded in the evening auroral oval convection: A critical comparison of observations with theory

Gerhard Haerendel (1) , Harald U. Frey (2) , Christopher C. Chaston (2) , Olaf Amm (3) , Liisa Juusola , R. Nakamura (4) , Elena Seran (5) , J. M. Weygand (6)

1 MPE - Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
2 SSL - Space Sciences Laboratory [Berkeley]
3 FMI - Finnish Meteorological Institute
4 IWF - Space Research Institute of Austrian Academy of Sciences
5 HELIOS - LATMOS
6 IGPP - Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics [Los Angeles]

We present and analyze data on auroral arcs obtained during a pass of the FAST satellite over the field-of-view of the all-sky camera at Ft. Simpson (Canada), supported by ground-based magnetometer and SuperDARN radar data, and plasma data from THEMIS-A near the source region of the auroral currents. The auroral event took place at 19:00 MLT during substorm activity further east. Active auroral arcs were present over six degrees in latitude moving equatorward with significant changes in brightness and structure. New arcs were forming continuously at the polar border of the auroral oval which was marked by an Alfvénic arc. The data analysis revealed that the equatorward drift of the arcs was in part due to convective motion of the plasma frame but was rather dominated by proper motions of the arcs. Interpretation of these findings in the framework of theoretical work by one of the authors reproduces quantitatively the observed proper motion as a consequence of the progressive erosion of magnetic shear stresses. Most important was the possibility to deduce the interaction time scale between arc and source region. On average it corresponded to about six to eight transit times of an Alfvén wave between arc and source plasma or two fundamental eigenperiods of toroidal mode or azimuthally polarized Alfvén waves. However, large variations of the interaction times and corresponding proper motions were found. They are attributed to temporal and spatial variations of the energy input from the source plasma. The more remarkable is the fact that analysis on the basis of a quasi-stationary model produces consistent results. The progressive release of shear stresses during the equatorward motion of the arcs leads to the conclusion that they are dying after having reached the maximum of the poleward Pedersen current.

Mots clés: Magnetospheric physics; Auroral phenomena; Magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions; Plasma convection; Substorms; Alfven waves; Auroral arcs; Magnetic shear stresses

Domaines: Physique Atmosphérique et Océanique [physics.ao-ph]

Gerhard Haerendel, Harald U. Frey, Christopher C. Chaston, Olaf Amm, Liisa Juusola, et al.. Birth and life of auroral arcs embedded in the evening auroral oval convection: A critical comparison of observations with theory. Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics, 2012, 117 (A12), pp.A12220. ⟨10.1029/2012JA018128⟩. ⟨hal-00776086⟩