Distribution of O+ ions in the plasma sheet and locations of substorm onsets

Abstract

We discuss the effect of O+ ions on substorm onsets by examining the relation between the substorm onset location and the distribution of the O+/H+ number density ratio before the onset in the various regions within the plasma sheet (−8 RE > XGSM > −32 RE). We use 9–212 keV/e ion flux data observed by Geotail/Energetic Particles and Ion Composition (EPIC)/Suprathermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) instrument and the IMAGE/Far Ultra‐Violet (FUV) substorm onset list presented by Frey et al. [Frey, H. U., S. B. Mende, V. Angelopoulos, and E. F. Donovan (2004), Substorm onset observations by IMAGE‐FUV, J. Geophys. Res., 109, A10304, doi:10.1029/2004JA010607]. The results are summarized as follows. Substorm onsets, which we identify by auroral initial brightenings, are likely to occur in the more dusk‐(dawn‐)ward region when the O+/H+ number density ratio is high in the dusk (dawn) side. This property is observed only in the near‐Earth plasma sheet (at −8 RE > XGSM > −14 RE). The above‐mentioned property holds in each of two groups: substorm events due to internal instability of the magnetosphere (i.e., internally triggered substorms) and events due to external changes in the solar wind or the interplanetary magnetic field (i.e., externally triggered substorms). Thus, we conclude that the substorm onset location depends on the density of O+ ions in the near‐Earth plasma sheet prior to onset, whether the substorm is triggered internally or externally.