• Comparison of substorm onsets during different levels of interplanetary magnetic field $B_{z}$

• # Fulltext

https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/pram/092/04/0051

• # Keywords

Substorm onsets; interplanetarymagnetic field $B_{z}$ characterisation; superposed epoch analysis; auroral boundaries

• # Abstract

The magnetospheric response during the substorm events to solar wind driving, as determined by the level and sign of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) $B_{z}$, is analysed. Using the superposed epoch analysis, solar wind and geomagnetic conditions under three levels of $B_{z}$ are characterised, i.e. northward or $\rm{BZN} (B_{z}$ > $0 \rm{nT}$, 75 events), very weak or $\rm{BZ}0 (B_{z} \sim 0 \rm{nT}$, 78 events) and southward or $\rm{BZS} (B_{z}$ < $0 \rm{nT}$, 80 events). No northward turning is observed during BZS, while northward turning occurs 20 and 50 min prior to onset, during the BZN and BZ0 classes, respectively. IMF has a strong duskward component and the solar wind speed is also the fastestduring BZN onsets. Auroral activity, as measured by the AL index, takes a longer time to decay to preonset values during BZ0 and BZS onsets compared to the BZN onsets. The level of IMF $B_{z}$ does not seem to influence the oval thickness in the noon sector. The oval is the thinnest during BZ0 events in all the sectors. The rate of auroral widening in the dawn sector is found to be evidently slower than in the dusk sector during the BZS group.

• # Pramana – Journal of Physics

Volume 96, 2022
All articles
Continuous Article Publishing mode

• # Editorial Note on Continuous Article Publication

Posted on July 25, 2019