The polar wind

Abstract

The polar wind is an ambipolar outflow of thermal plasma from the terrestrial ionosphere at high latitudes to the magnetosphere along geomagnetic field lines. The polar wind plasma consists mainly of H+, He+, and O+ ions and electrons. Although it was initially believed that O+ ions play a major role only at low altitudes, it is now clear from observations that relatively large amounts of suprathermal and energetic O+ ions are present in the polar magnetosphere. Recently, thermal O+ outflow has been observed at altitudes of 5000–10,000 km together with H+ and He+ ions. The polar wind undergoes four major transitions as it flows from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere: (1) from chemical to diffusion dominance, (2) from subsonic to supersonic flow, (3) from collision‐dominated to collisionless regimes, and (4) from heavy to light ion composition. The collisions are important up to about 2500 km, after which the ions and electrons exhibit temperature anisotropies. The direction of the anisotropy varies with geophysical conditions. The polar wind outflow varies with season, solar cycle, and geomagnetic activity. The O+ flux exhibits a summer maximum, while the H+ flux reaches a maximum in the spring. The He+ flux increases by a factor of 10 from summer to winter. At both magnetically quiet and active times the integrated H+ ion flux is largest in the noon sector and smallest in the midnight sector. The integrated upward H+ ion flux exhibits a positive correlation with the interplanetary magnetic field. In the sunlit polar cap the photoelectrons can increase the ambipolar electric field, which in turn increases the polar wind ion outflow velocities. The outflowing polar wind plasma flux tubes also convect across the polar cap. When the flux tubes cross the cusp and nocturnal auroral regions, the plasma can be heated and become unstable. Similar mixing of hot magnetospheric plasma with cold polar wind may result in instabilities. A number of free energy sources in the polar wind, including temperature anisotropy, relative drift between species, and spatial inhomogeneities, feed various fluid and kinetic instabilites. The instabilities can produce plasma energization and cross‐field transport, which modify the large‐scale polar wind outflow.