Magnetopause

currents

Denis GRODENT, Magnétosphères et aurores planétaires, MSS

 Ring current

Posi?ve charges driB Westward Jupiter: opposite driB since B is reversed

Nega?ve charges driB Eastward
Current carried by radia?on belts

 Chapman-Ferraro current
The Chapman-Ferraro current shape the
magnetosphere as a func?on of the solar wind
characteris?cs. It limits the size of the
magnetosphere and gives rise to closed
magnetosphere (for IMF N).

Simplified illustra?on for a planar
magnetopause separa?ng a field-free solar
wind (leB) from a plasma-free magnetosphere
(right).

Protons and electrons are deviated by Bmagn
(with rLp > rLe) in opposite direc?ons ⇒ net
current J
J x B balances solar wind pressure:

Jy Bz = ρ u2 = nmpu2

Density of current traversing y=y0 (by length unit along y):
| J | = 2 rLpu n e = 2 nmpu2/Bz
Magnetopause current closure ⇒ cross tail current
in the nightside magnetospheric tail

looking towards the Sun,

from magnetotail
Currents System

Gombosi