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arXiv · 2112.07429

Cold ionospheric ions in the magnetosphere

M. André·S. Toledo-Redondo·A. W. Yau
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Abstract

Cold (eV) ions of ionospheric origin are a major source of magnetospheric plasma. These ions dominate the number density for most of the volume of the magnetosphere, most of the time. This affects large-scale physics, including plasma temperature and pressure (and thus instability thresholds) and the Alfv\'en velocity (and thus energy transport with waves and the magnetic reconnection rate). This also affects small-scale kinetic plasma physics, including wave generation and the Hall physics of reconnection. Ions escaping from the ionosphere also represent a significant fraction of the mass outflow from planet Earth.

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M. André, S. Toledo-Redondo, A. W. Yau. 2021-12-14. Cold ionospheric ions in the magnetosphere. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119815624.ch15

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