Auroral vector electric field and particle comparisons, 2, Electrodynamics of an arc

Abstract

The paper reports the results of energetic auroral electron and vector electric field measurements taken near and above a discrete auroral form and discusses their electrodynamic implications. Height-integrated Hall and Pedersen conductivities are computed in a quantitative fashion along the rocket payload trajectory. These conductivities, together with the electric fields, are used to describe the local auroral electrojet current system and to demonstrate an inverse relationship between the local electric field intensity and the height-integrated Pedersen conductivity. An analysis is presented of the divergence of both the electric field and the horizontal current as an effort to infer space charge densities and magnetic-field-aligned electrical currents near an auroral arc.