A Combined effect of the Earth's magnetic dipole tilt and IMF By in
controlling auroral electron precipitation
Abstract
Precipitation of auroral electrons is usually assumed to be symmetric
with respect to the sign of the dawn-dusk (By) component of the
interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). This is also the case in most
currently used precipitation models, which parameterize solar wind
driving by empirical coupling functions. However, recent studies have
showed that geomagnetic activity is significantly modulated by the signs
and amplitudes of IMF By and the Earth’s dipole tilt angle
$\Psi$. This so called explicit By dependence is not
yet included in any current precipitation models. In this paper, we
quantify this By dependence for auroral electron precipitation for the
first time. We use precipitation measurements of the Defense
Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor J instruments
from years 1995-2022. We show that the dawnside electron precipitation
at energies 13.9-30 keV is greater at auroral latitudes for opposite
signs of By and $\Psi$ in both hemispheres, while the
dusk sector is mostly unaffected by By and $\Psi$. For
energies below 6.5 keV the By dependence is strong poleward of the
auroral oval in the summer hemisphere, also exhibiting a strong
dawn-dusk asymmetry. We also show that By dependence of precipitation
modulates ionospheric conductance, which has important implications for
solar wind response of ionospheric currents.