Solar Terrestrial Relations
Homework 2 Due Oct 2, 2025
1. Ionospheric layers:
Give short (few sentences) answers to the following questions
(a) What causes ionization in the upper atmosphere?
(b) Describe what happens in photodissociation and photoionization. What is the basic
difference between the two processes?
(c) Where and why does the total electron content (TEC) in the ionosphere increase
during solar activity?
2. Total electron content:
(a) Provide short answers to the following questions:
i. What processes create the electron content in the ionosphere?
ii. What conditions influence TEC in the ionosphere?
iii. Why is TEC important?
(b) Assume that the electron density in the dayside ionosphere is about ne ∼ 1012
electrons/m3 . Assume that the atmospheric density at 300 km is ρm = 10−10 kg/m3
and that it is mainly oxygen. What is the ionization degree? Hint: Calculate the
number density using the Avogadro constant 6.022 · 1023 1/mol and the oxygen
molar mass of 16 g/mol.
3. Particle distribution function:
Consider a one-dimensional particle velocity distribution function (A and C are
constants)
v2
f (v) = Cv 2 e− A2
(a) Show that A corresponds to thermal speed.
(b) Give an expression for the thermal speed in terms of temperature.
(c) Give an expression for constant C as function of T .
(d) Give an expression for the average velocity < v > as function of T .
(e) Using the results above, substitute for C and A to give an expression for the
distribution function as function of v and T .
4. Magnetic reconnection:
(a) Describe briefly what happens during the magnetic reconnection process. Draw a
figure if that is helpful.
(b) The plasma energy and energy density and fluxes can be divided into
electromagnetic energy (Poynting flux) and hydromagnetic energy (kinetic energy
flux). What happens to the energy distribution during reconnection?
(c) The attached figure shows two schematic models for solar flares. Describe where
reconnection happens in the figure and what it does to the flare process.
Figure 1: Solar flare
5. Sweet-Parker reconnection:
The Sweet-Parker reconnection model is the simplest possible reconnection model that
assumes that the diffusion region is a finite region with dimensions 2L along the current
sheet and 2δ perpendicular to the current sheet (see attached figure), and that all the
reconnected flow/flux transport through the diffusion region. Further assume uniform B,
electric field E, and density ρ. Ideal MHD conditions apply outside the diffusion region.
Assume that the inflow is dominated by magnetic energy flux, and the outflow is
dominated by the kinetic energy flux. Treat the problem in 2D.
(a) Assuming mass and energy conservation, calculate the outflow velocity
(b) Assuming that the electric field is the same inside and outside the diffusion region,
calculate the inflow speed as function of the plasma diffusion inside the diffusion
region.
(c) Assuming that the flare has a field of 100 G (0.01 T), density of 1010 cm−3 , the
plasma Reynolds number RM A = 1014 , and reconnection site size of L = 3 · 104 km
(assume a 2D area of about L2 ), calculate the time it takes to generate typical flare
energy of 1024 J, and compare that with a typical flare duration of 103 − 104 s.
Figure 2: Sweet-Parker reconnection diffusion region
6. Pitch angle and loss cone:
Consider two protons with equatorial pitch angles 1 and 2 degrees at 10 RE , ExB
drifting in a dipole field toward the Earth.
(a) Plot the protons’ pitch angles as function L between L = 6 − 10.
(b) Plot the loss cone as function of L between L = 6 − 10.
(c) Compare the change in pitch angle with with size of the loss cone to argue whether
ExB drift is n efficient way to push particles to the loss cone to create auroral
precipitation.
Extra Homework
1. Derive the equation for the atmospheric scale height:
Derive the hypsometric equation that gives the pressure variation with altitude
Z z
dz
p(z) = p0 exp −
z0 H(z)
starting from the equation of motion with the pressure force (∇p) and gravitational
acceleration −g eˆz ) and using ideal gas law (p = nkB T ).
2. Derive formulas for ionospheric conductivities:
Derive the equations for the three conductivity components σi = σi (σ0 , ωce , νc ), where
σ0 = ne e2 /me νc , and i denotes the Hall, Pedersen, and parallel (to B) components of the
conductivity.
Hint: Start from the equation of motion
dv
F = me = −e(E + ve × B) − me νc (ve − u)
dt
and assume a steady state (d/dt = 0, u = 0) and magnetic field in the z-direction,
B = Bêz . Express the conductances in terms of a matrix equation where the current
density J = −ene ve can be given as
σP −σH 0 Ex Jx σP Ex − σH Ey
J=σ·E= σ H σP 0 · Ey → Jy = σH Ex + σP Ey
0 0 σ|| Ez Jz σ|| Ez
and use the electron gyrofrequency ωce = eB/me to express the conductance formulas.
3. Gradient and curvature drifts:
(a) Derive the gradient drift equation. Start from external force due to a magnetic field
gradient that can be written as
1 2 ∇B
Fg = − mv⊥ ;
2 B
and show that the gradient drift becomes
2
mv⊥ ∇B × B
vg = −
2q B3
(b) Derive the curvature drift equation. Start from external force due to a magnetic
field line curvature that can be written as
n n
Fc = −mv∥2 ; = (b · ∇)b
Rc Rc
where Rc is the magnetic field line radius of curvature and b is a unit vector along
B. Show that the curvature drift can be written as
mv∥2 B × ∇B
vc =
q B3
Useful vector identities
A × (B × C) = (A · C)B − (A · B)C
1
(A · ∇)A + A × (∇ × A) = ∇A2
2
A c∇ × A − (∇c) × A
∇× =
c c2
A × (B × C) = (A · C)B − (A · B)C