Impulsive ion injections in the morning auroral region

Abstract

Low altitude (less than 1000 km) measurements of ions precipitating into the morning auroral region are presented and analyzed. The ion fluxes exhibited time‐energy signatures consistent with impulsive injection onto high‐altitude field lines, followed by time‐of‐flight dispersion. The origin of these ions is investigated through the detailed examination of these signatures in conjunction with simultaneous measurements of precipitating electrons and a magnetic field model. A model is developed which indicates that the source for these particles was located in or near the magnetopause boundary layer, with the position deduced to be in the midlatitude flank region about 20–30 RE tailward of the Earth. The model explains the existence of multiple injections on a given field line as due to a quasi‐periodic source, with the periodicity being about 100–200 s at the source. Several mechanisms are examined in an attempt to explain the injections, with a mechanism related to the propagation of waves on the surface of the boundary layer found to be the most plausible. The observations and results are compared to those of similar experiments and some unifying ideas are discussed.