Abstract
A transient response model of Pi 2 pulsations due to an enhanced convection in the plasma sheet is presented. A nonlinear Alfvén wave is launched by the enhanced convection electric field. The reflection coefficient at the ionosphere is derived by matching the field‐aligned current of the Alfvén wave to the field‐aligned current from the divergence of the ionospheric Hall and Pedersen currents. The resulting transient magnetic perturbation on the ground exhibits the characteristics of the Pi 2 pulsation signature accompanying a substorm onset. The predicted fundamental period of the magnetic perturbation is 4 times the one‐way Alfvén travel time which increases toward higher latitude. The predicted Pi 2 source regions in the ionosphere are in reasonable agreement with observations.
Published Version
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