Numerical modeling of the ion temperature influence on the plasmasphere 3d structure formation

The formation of three-dimensional structure of the "plasmasphere – ionosphere" system under the influence of ionization / recombination, charge exchange reactions and field-aligned (along the geomagnetic field lines) diffusion of ions O+ and H+ has been investigated by the numerical simulation method using the global upper atmosphere model (UAM). A few large-scale structural features: 3 night-time ionospheric electron density maxima – sub-auroral, mid-latitudinal and near-equatorial, and corresponding peaks of n(O+) in the outer plasmasphere and n(H+) in the mid-latitudinal plasmasphere have been obtained. The geometry of the geomagnetic field and the spatial non-homogeneity of the ion temperature give a determinative contribution to the formation of these features.