Quasistatic electric field structures and field‐aligned currents in the polar cusp region

Abstract

Cluster data have been examined for quasi‐stationary electric field structures and field‐aligned currents (FACs) in the vicinity of the dayside cusp region. We have related the measurements to the Region 1/Region 2 (R1/R2) current system and the cusp current system. It has been theoretically proposed that the dayside R1 current may be located on open field lines, and experimental evidence has been shown for R1 currents partially on open field lines. We document that R1 currents may flow entirely on open field lines. The electric field structures are found to occur at plasma density gradients in the cusp. They are associated with strong FACs with current directions that are consistent with the cusp currents. This indicates that the electric field structures are closely coupled to the cusp current system. The electric equipotential structures linking the perpendicular electric fields seen at Cluster altitudes to field‐aligned electric fields at lower altitudes fall into one of two categories: S shape or U shape. Both types are found at both the equatorward edge of the cusp ion dispersion and at the equatorward edge of injection events within the cusp. Previous studies in the nightside auroral region attributed the S‐shaped potential structures to the boundary transition between the low‐density polar cap and the high‐density plasma sheet, concluding that the shape of the electric potential structure depends on whether the plasma populations on each side of the structure can support intense currents. This explanation is not applicable for the S‐shaped structures observed in the dayside cusp region.