Abstract
The history of the dayside or polar cusp is reviewed briefly, beginning with the work of Chapman and Ferraro, Axford and Hines, and Dungey. Solar wind plasma comes down the cusp to low altitudes; the remarkably broad area over which this penetration occurs prompted the use of the term cleft, apparently at the foot of the entry layer inside the magnetopause. The consensus of discussion at the workshop was that cusp should refer mainly to the narrow feature in the magnetic profile. Cleft would refer to the broader region defined by the solar wind plasma (perhaps somewhat modified by acceleration or retardation processes); distinctive features observable in the ionosphere or on the ground are photo-emission, enhanced plasma density and temperature, plasma convection, electromagnetic waves, and turbulence.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Axford, W.I. and C.O. Hines, A unifying theory of high-latitude geophysical phenomenon and geomagnetic atorms, Can. J. Phys. 38, 1433, 1961.
Chapman, S., and V.C.A. Ferraro, A new theory of magnetic storms. Part I. The initial phase, Terr. Mag. Atmos. Electr., 36, 171, (1931).
Cowley, S.W.H., Plasma populations in a simple open magnetosphere, Space Sci. Rev. 26, 217, 1980
Cowley, S.W.H., The causes of convection in the Earth’s magnetosphere: A review of developments during the IMS, Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 20, 531, 1982.
Dungey, J.W., Interplanetary field and the auroral zones, Phys. Rev. Lett. 6, 47, 1961.
Haerendal, G. and G. Paschmann, Entry of solar wind plasma into the magnetosphere, from Physics of the Hot Plasma in the Magnetosphere, eds. B. Hultqvist and L. Stenflo, Nobel Foundation Symposium, 1975.
Hedgecock, P.C. and B.T. Thomas, HEOS observations of the configuration of the magnetosphere, Geophysics Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 41, 391, 1975.
Heelis, R.A., W.B. Hanson and J.L. Burch, Ion convection velocity reversals in the dayside cleft, J. Geophys. Res., 81, 3803, 1976.
Heikkila, W.J., The morphology of auroral particle precipitation, Space Research XII, 1344, 1972.
Heikkila, W.J., Is there an electrostatic field tangential to the dayside magnetopause and neutral line? Geophys. Res. Lett., 2, 954, 1975.
Heikkila, W.J., Inductive electric field at the magnetopause, Geophys. Res. Lett., 9, 877, 1982a.
Heikkila, W.J., Impulsive plasma transport though the magnetopause, Geophys. Res. Lett., 9 159, 1982b.
Heikkila, W.J., The electromagnetic field for an open magnetosphere, in Magnetic Reconnection in Space and Laboratory Physics, E.W. Hones, Jr. Ed., Geophysical Monograph 30, 39 1984
Heikkila, W.J., J.B. Smith, J. Tarstrup, and J.D. Winningham, The soft particle spectrometer in the ISIS-I satellite, The Review of Scientific Instruments, 41, 1393, 1970.
Heikkila, W.J. and J.D. Winningham, Penetration of magnetosheath plasma to low altitudes through the dayside magnetospheric cusps, J. Geophys. Res., 76, 883, 1971.
Johnstone, A., The solar wind connection, Nature 282, 229, 1979.
Lemaire, J., Impulsive penetration of filamentary plasma elements into the magnetospheres of the Earth and Jupiter, Planet Spa. Sci., 25, 887, 1977.
McDiarmid, I.B., J.R. Burrows, and M.D. Wilson, Solar particles and the dayside limit of closed field lines,J. Geophys. Res., 77, 1103, 1972.
Paschman. G., B.U.O. Sonnerup, I. Papamastorakis, N. Sckopke, G. Haerendel, S.J. Bame, J.R. Asbridge, J.T. Gosling, C.T. Russell and R.C. Elphic, Plasma acceleration at the earth1s magneto-Evidence for reconnection,Nature, 282 243, 1979.
Reiff, P.H., T.W. Hill and J.L. Burch, Solar wind plasma injection at the dayside magnetospheric cusp, J. Geophys. Res., 22, 681, 1978.
Russell, C.T. and R.C. Elphic, Initial ISEE magnetometer results: Magnetopause observations, Space Sci. Rev., 22, 681, 1978.
Russell, C.T., Reconnection at the earth's magnetopause: magnetic field observations and flux transfer events, Magnetic Reconnection in Space and Laboratory Physics, E.W.Hones, Jr., ed., Geophysical Monoghraph 30, 124, 1984
Sonnerup, B.U.O., G. Paschmann, I. Papamastorakis, N. Sckhopke, G. Haerendel, S.J. Bame, J.R. Asbridge, J.T. Gosling, and C.T. Russell, Evidence for magnetic field reconnection at the earth1 magnetopause.J. Geophys. Res., 86, 10049, 1981.
Winningham, J.D. , Characteristics of magnetosheath plasma observed at low altitudes in the dayside magnetospheric cusps, Earth’s Magnetospheric Processes, 68—80, Ed. B.M. McCormac, D. Reidel Publ. Co., Dordrecht-Holland, 1972.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 D. Reidel Publishing Company
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Heikkila, W.J. (1985). Definition of the Cusp. In: Holtet, J.A., Egeland, A. (eds) The Polar Cusp. NATO ASI Series, vol 145. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5295-9_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5295-9_28
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8838-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-5295-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive