Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 045002 (2009) [4 pages]Electron Trapping in Shear Alfvén Waves that Power the AuroraReceived 7 November 2008; published 26 January 2009 Results from 1D Vlasov drift-kinetic plasma simulations reveal how and where auroral electrons are accelerated along Earth’s geomagnetic field. In the warm plasma sheet, electrons become trapped in shear Alfvén waves, preventing immediate wave damping. As waves move to regions with larger vTe/vA, their parallel electric field decreases, and the trapped electrons escape their influence. The resulting electron distribution functions compare favorably with in situ observations, demonstrating for the first time a self-consistent link between Alfvén waves and electrons that form aurora. © 2009 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.045002
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.045002
PACS:
94.30.Aa, 52.35.Mw, 52.65.Tt, 94.20.wj
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