Laboratory modeling of a field-aligned currents system generated by a flow of inner magnetospheric plasma

Abstract

For the first time in laboratory conditions, an experiment to simulate a system of field-aligned currents arising on planets such as Hot Jupiters in the presence of dense inner-magnetospheric plasma was carried out. The magnitude and transit time of field-aligned currents were measured as a function of the magnetic field using flat electrodes. The geometry of the expansion of plasma streams was pictured by gated camera. Also, in a first approximation, the efficiency of energy transfer from plasma flows to field-aligned currents was calculated. The results obtained create a basis for future laboratory experiments on this topic and improve existing numerical models.