Transport and Acceleration of O+ Ions in Upstream Solar Wind Due To Impact of an IMF Discontinuity: 3D Global Hybrid Simulation

Abstract

Abstract Based on the predictions of global 3D hybrid simulations, we present a new transport/acceleration path for escaped O+ ions in the upstream solar wind region resulting from the impact of a particular IMF tangential discontinuity (TD) with negative (positive) IMF Bz on the discontinuity's anti‐sunward (sunward) side. For O+ ions escaping to the duskside magnetosheath and with gyro‐radii larger than the TD thickness, when they encounter the TD, they can first go sunward into the upstream solar wind. They then gyrate clockwise to the pre‐noon side and get accelerated within the solar wind region and circulate back to the dawnside magnetosphere. These ions may be accelerated to well within the ring current energy range depending on the solar wind electric field strength. This new transport/acceleration path can bring some of the escaped ions into the inner magnetosphere, thus providing a new mechanism for generating an O+ ring current population.

Keywords

• escaped O+ ions
• O+ ion circulation
• non‐adiabatic energization
• O+ gyration
• ring current O+ ions