Ion acoustic solitons in Earth’s upward current region

Abstract

The formation and evolution of ion acoustic solitons in Earth’s auroral upward current region are studied using one- and two-dimensional (2D) electrostatic particle-in-cell simulations. The one-dimensional simulations are confined to processes that occur in the auroral cavity and include four plasma populations: hot electrons, H+ and O+ anti-earthward ion beams, and a hot H+ background population. Ion acoustic solitons are found to form for auroral-cavity ion beams consistent with acceleration through double-layer (DL) potentials measured by FAST. A simplified one-dimensional model simulation is then presented in order to isolate the mechanisms that lead to the formation of the ion acoustic soliton. Results of a two-dimensional simulation, which include both the ionosphere and the auroral cavity, separated by a low-altitude DL, are then presented in order to confirm that the soliton forms in a more realistic 2D geometry. The 2D simulation is initialized with a U-shaped potential structure that mimics the inferred shape of the low altitude transition region based on observations. In this simulation, a soliton localized perpendicular to the geomagnetic field is observed to form and reside next to the DL. Finally, the 2D simulation results are compared with FAST data and it is found that certain aspects of the data can be explained by assuming the presence of an ion acoustic soliton.