Effects of ion demagnetization in the plasma sheet
The processes in the plasma sheet in the earth's magnetotail that can generate the field-aligned currents associated with auroral arcs are investigated using a two-and-a-half-dimensional nonradiative electromagnetic particle code in the Darwin approximation. All three components of the magnetic field, as well as the effect of electrostatic interaction, are calculated. The results include the response of the plasma sheet to the application of a convection electric field, the heating of plasma sheet ions, and the generation of y-directed magnetic fields and currents in the plane of simulation. The relation of these results to other morphological features of auroral/magnetospheric substorms is discussed.