Project Summary Lummerzheim/ATM-9409485 This project will develop a model that can self-consistently explain the formation of auroral rays. Rays frequently sprout above auroral arcs, extending upwards from the arc at regularly spaced intervals. The PIs will develop a model that attributes the generation of rays to collisions of locally accelerated electrons with the neutral gas. The model will contain a parallel electric field resulting from a tearing mode instability, the relevant ionospheric chemistry, and particle transport in a self-consistent formulation. Predictions will be made about the dynamics, brightness, spatial distribution, and temporal evolution of rays that can be tested by observations.
