Inner Magnetospheric Convection Electric Fields and Corresponding Geomagnetic Indices During High‐Speed Solar Wind Streams

Abstract Enhancements of large‐scale convection electric fields in the inner magnetosphere, likely linked to low‐latitude penetration electric fields in the ionosphere, are key components of solar wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling. These fields reflect large‐scale magnetosphere convection induced by the solar wind and are known to influence various geomagnetic indices such as Kp, AU, and Dst. In this study, we examine large‐scale electric fields observed by the Van Allen Probes, along with solar wind conditions and geomagnetic indices, during 191 isolated high‐speed solar wind events from October 2012 to August 2019. We find that the strength of the electric field within L‐shells less than 5.5 increases with both solar wind speed and the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field. Superposed epoch analysis reveals that the penetration depth of the convection electric field increases with solar wind speed. When solar wind speed exceeds 550 km/s, significant electric fields reach . Statistical analyses show that the Kp, AU, and Dst indices exhibit an approximately linear relationship with electric field strength when . Above this threshold, these indices exhibit a slower rate of increase, indicating a nonlinear response of geomagnetic indices to stronger convection electric fields. Additionally, AU correlates approximately linearly with Kp, while Kp shows a roughly logarithmic relationship with Dst. These results confirm that magnetospheric convection significantly influences Kp, AU, and Dst, particularly under high‐speed solar wind conditions.

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Publication Details

Journal
Space Weather
Published
2025-08-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025sw004548
Citations
8
Primary Topic
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
9.24

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article

Inner Magnetospheric Convection Electric Fields and Corresponding Geomagnetic Indices During High‐Speed Solar Wind Streams

Yong Ren, Lei Dai, W. D. González, Minghui Zhu et al.
8 citations
Space Weather
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
9.24
article

Inner Magnetospheric Convection Electric Fields and Corresponding Geomagnetic Indices During High‐Speed Solar Wind Streams

Yong Ren, Lei Dai, W. D. González, Minghui Zhu, Xu Wang, Chi Wang, Tonghui Wang, Xiaochao Yang
article en
8 citations

Abstract

Abstract Enhancements of large‐scale convection electric fields in the inner magnetosphere, likely linked to low‐latitude penetration electric fields in the ionosphere, are key components of solar wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling. These fields reflect large‐scale magnetosphere convection induced by the solar wind and are known to influence various geomagnetic indices such as Kp, AU, and Dst. In this study, we examine large‐scale electric fields observed by the Van Allen Probes, along with solar wind conditions and geomagnetic indices, during 191 isolated high‐speed solar wind events from October 2012 to August 2019. We find that the strength of the electric field within L‐shells less than 5.5 increases with both solar wind speed and the southward component of the interplanetary magnetic field. Superposed epoch analysis reveals that the penetration depth of the convection electric field increases with solar wind speed. When solar wind speed exceeds 550 km/s, significant electric fields reach . Statistical analyses show that the Kp, AU, and Dst indices exhibit an approximately linear relationship with electric field strength when . Above this threshold, these indices exhibit a slower rate of increase, indicating a nonlinear response of geomagnetic indices to stronger convection electric fields. Additionally, AU correlates approximately linearly with Kp, while Kp shows a roughly logarithmic relationship with Dst. These results confirm that magnetospheric convection significantly influences Kp, AU, and Dst, particularly under high‐speed solar wind conditions.

Space WeatherVol. 23(8)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), National Space Science Center (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (BR)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
9.24
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