Plasma in the ring currents in the earth's magnetosphere. A model and a comparison with the results of the AMPTE/CCE experiment

Based on experiments performed in the years 1961-1983, they have constructed a model for the distribution of ion energy density in the region of the ring current. The model is aimed at demonstrating the stationary nature of the way in which the region is filled up with plasma having an energy density commensurate with the energy of the geomagnetic field. Comparing the model with the results of the AMPTE/CCE experiment, they have confirmed the existence of a quiet ring current, and they have improved our knowledge of the maximum energy content of the plasma and its composition. The fact that a significant amount of the ions are oxygen indicates an ionospheric source. Ion temperatures in the ring current amount to tens of kiloelectron-volts. When these ions undergo gradient drift in the magnetic field, they may create a ring current with a magnetic moment in the same direction (at the center of the earth) as the geomagnetic dipole