The influence of ionic temperature on plasmasphere structure formation

The formation of the three-dimensional structure of the plasmasphere-ionosphere system under the action of ionization/recombination, charge exchange, and field-aligned (along geomagnetic field lines) diffusion of the O⁺ and H⁺ ions was studied by numerical simulation with the use of the global theoretical model of the upper atmosphere of the Earth (UAM). These processes were shown to form a spatially inhomogeneous and nonstationary plasma sheath of the Earth with several large-scale structural total plasma density and ionic composition singularities. A substantial contribution to their formation was made not only by the magnetic field geometry but also by ionic temperature spatial nonuniformity mainly determined by nonlocal heating with photoelectrons. The mechanism of this influence was studied.