Polar cap potential saturation: An energy conservation perspective

Abstract

In the long run, energy entering the magnetosphere from the solar wind must be balanced by energy dissipation in or escape from the system. It then follows that the Joule heating rate in the ionosphere statistically should be bounded from the upside by the solar wind energy input function (e.g., the Perrault-Akasofu parameter). We show that this energy constraint, coupled with some observationally motivated assumptions about the behavior of the auroral oval under escalating solar wind conditions, leads to the prediction of polar cap potential saturation.