The Role of Current Sheet Scattering in the Proton Isotropic Boundary Formation During Geomagnetic Storms

Abstract

There is considerable evidence that current sheet scattering (CSS) plays an important role in isotropic boundary (IB) formation during quiet time. However, IB formation can also result from scattering by electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves, which are much more prevalent during storm time. The effectiveness of CSS can be estimated by the parameter K = Rc/rg, the ratio of the field line radius of curvature to the particle gyroradius. Using magnetohydrodynamic and empirical models, we estimated the parameter K associated with storm time IB observations on the nightside. We used magnetic field observations from spacecraft in the magnetotail to estimate and correct for errors in the K values computed by the models. We find that the magnetohydrodynamic and empirical models produce fairly similar results without correction and that correction increases this similarity. Accounting for uncertainty in both the latitude of the IB and the threshold value of K required for CSS, we found that 29–54% of the IB observations satisfied the criteria for CSS. We found no correlation between the corrected K and magnetic local time, which further supports the hypothesis that CSS played a significant role in forming the observed IBs.