Polar cap arcs: Sun-aligned or cusp-aligned?

Abstract

Polar cap arcs are often called sun-aligned arcs. Satellite observations reveal that polar cap arcs join together at the cusp and are actually cusp aligned. Strong ionospheric plasma velocity shears, thus field aligned currents, were associated with polar arcs and they were likely caused by Kelvin–Helmholtz waves around the low-latitude magnetopause under a northward IMF Bz. The magnetic field lines around the magnetopause join together in the cusp region so are the field aligned currents and particle precipitation. This explains why polar arcs are cusp aligned.