HR: 0800h
AN: SM11A-1174    [Abstracts]
TI: A Theoretical Model for Bursty Bulk Flows
AU: * Machida, S
EM: machida@kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp
AF: Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan
AB: The bursty bulk flows (BBFs) are known to have abrupt increases of the plasma flow velocity and the intensity of the northward/southward magnetic fields, occasionally followed by periodic variations with 1-3 minute characteristic time. In this paper, a theoretical model for the BBFs is proposed. In our model, a region of dawnward electric field is assumed to propagate earthward , which corresponds to the propagation of the fast-mode wave front generated by magnetic reconnection. The coupling between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere is modeled by means of an equivalent electric circuit. We made a series of test particle simulations with an assumption that each test particle corresponds to a magnetic flux tube. We further obtained an analytic solution that approximates the numerical results and suitably explains the main characteristics of actual BBFs.
DE: 2409 Current systems (2708)
DE: 2411 Electric fields (2712)
DE: 2736 Magnetosphere/ionosphere interactions
DE: 2744 Magnetotail
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting