Interhemispheric Comparison of Dipole Tilt Angle Effects on Latitude of Mid-Altitude Cusp

Abstract

A statistical study of interhemispheric comparison of dipole tilt angle effect on the latitude of the mid-altitude cusp is preformed by a data set of the Cluster cusp crossings over a 5-year period. The result shows that the dipole tilt angle has a clear control of the cusp latitudinal location. When the dipole tilts sunwards, the cusp is shifted poleward. The northern cusp moves 1° ILAT for every 15.4° increase in the dipole tilt angle, while the southern cusp moves 1° ILAT for every 20.8° increase in the dipole tilt angle. This suggests that an interhemispheric difference appears in the dependence of cusp latitudinal location on the dipole tilt angle.