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Register a new userFinite-Larmor-radius equilibrium and currents of the Earths flank magnetopause
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Added by
Silvio Sergio Cerri
Publication date
2018
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
Authors
S. S. Cerri
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We consider the one-dimensional equilibrium problem of a shear-flow boundary layer within an extended Hall-MHD (eHMHD) model of plasma that retains first-order finite Larmor radius (FLR) corrections to the ion dynamics. We provide a generalized version of the analytic expressions for the equilibrium configuration given in Cerri et al. (2013) [Cerri et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 112112 (2013)], highlighting their intrinsic asymmetry due to the relative orientation of the magnetic field $mathbf{b}=mathbf{B}/|mathbf{B}|$ and the fluid vorticity $mathbf{omega}=mathbf{ abla}timesmathbf{u}$ ($mathbf{omega b}$ asymmetry). Finally, we show that FLR effects can modify the Chapman--Ferraro current layer at the flank magnetopause in a way that is consistent with the observed structure reported by Haaland et al. (2014) [Haaland et al., J. Geophys. Res. Space Phys. 119, 9019-9037 (2014)]. In particular, we are able to qualitatively reproduce the following key features: (i) the dusk-dawn asymmetry of the current layer, (ii) a double-peak feature in the current profiles, and (iii) adjacent current sheets having thicknesses of several ion Larmor radii and with different current directions.
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