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The Effect of Field‐Aligned Potential Drop on Electron Precipitation and Ionospheric Conductivity.

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Title: The Effect of Field‐Aligned Potential Drop on Electron Precipitation and Ionospheric Conductivity.
Authors: Wu, Haijun1,2 (AUTHOR), Yu, Yiqun1,2 (AUTHOR) yiqunyu17@gmail.com, Ma, Longxing1,2 (AUTHOR), An, Depeng1,2 (AUTHOR), Wei, Ziming1,2 (AUTHOR), Tang, Linhui1,2 (AUTHOR), Cao, Jinbin1,2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics. Apr2026, Vol. 131 Issue 4, p1-14. 14p.
Subject Terms: Voltage, Magnetospheric physics, Ionospheric electron density, Particle scattering functions
Abstract: Field‐aligned potential drop is an important phenomenon in the magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling system. Using the kinetic Storm‐Time Ring Current Model (STRIM), which has fulfilled a self‐consistent electric field calculation, we investigate the role of field‐aligned potential drop in regulating the magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling by incorporating field‐aligned potential drop into the model. It was found that field‐aligned potential drop significantly reduces particles' pitch angle and increases their energies, equivalently broadening their bounce loss cone and enhancing magnetospheric particle precipitation. In regions where the potential drop reaches several kilovolts, the discrete precipitating electron flux driven directly by the potential drop becomes dominant over the diffuse precipitation, contributing over 90% to the total precipitation. The associated average energy is also enhanced by up to ∼60%, compared to cases without a strong field‐aligned potential drop. The ionospheric conductivity of the regions with discrete electron precipitation was further evaluated by the GLOW model. It is found that Pedersen and Hall conductance in the E region (∼150 km in height) are almost entirely controlled by discrete precipitation if the field‐aligned potential drop is over 10 kilovolts. These results provide quantitative evidence that field‐aligned potential drop strongly modulates the intensity and energy spectrum of precipitating particles and substantially influences the ionospheric electrodynamics. Plain Language Summary: Field‐aligned potential drop in the ionosphere, which occurs around 5,000 km in altitude, plays a key role in the coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere. This study uses the Storm‐Time Ring Current Model (STRIM), which includes electric field calculations, to explore how the potential drop affects this coupling. The findings show that the potential drop reduces the pitch angle of particles and increases their energy, leading to a broader loss cone and enhanced particle precipitation into the ionosphere. Additionally, the GLOW model shows that the ionospheric conductivity is mainly controlled by discrete electron precipitation in the region where the potential drop exceeds 10 kV. Key Points: During geomagnetic storms, the field‐aligned potential drop can be quite large, reaching several kilovoltsField‐aligned potential drop significantly reduces the pitch angle of electrons and increases their energyDiscrete precipitation flux could make a significant contribution to ionospheric conductivity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The Effect of Field‐Aligned Potential Drop on Electron Precipitation and Ionospheric Conductivity.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wu%2C+Haijun%22">Wu, Haijun</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yu%2C+Yiqun%22">Yu, Yiqun</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> yiqunyu17@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ma%2C+Longxing%22">Ma, Longxing</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22An%2C+Depeng%22">An, Depeng</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wei%2C+Ziming%22">Wei, Ziming</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Tang%2C+Linhui%22">Tang, Linhui</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cao%2C+Jinbin%22">Cao, Jinbin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Geophysical+Research%2E+Space+Physics%22">Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 131 Issue 4, p1-14. 14p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Voltage%22">Voltage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Magnetospheric+physics%22">Magnetospheric physics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ionospheric+electron+density%22">Ionospheric electron density</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Particle+scattering+functions%22">Particle scattering functions</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Field‐aligned potential drop is an important phenomenon in the magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling system. Using the kinetic Storm‐Time Ring Current Model (STRIM), which has fulfilled a self‐consistent electric field calculation, we investigate the role of field‐aligned potential drop in regulating the magnetosphere‐ionosphere coupling by incorporating field‐aligned potential drop into the model. It was found that field‐aligned potential drop significantly reduces particles' pitch angle and increases their energies, equivalently broadening their bounce loss cone and enhancing magnetospheric particle precipitation. In regions where the potential drop reaches several kilovolts, the discrete precipitating electron flux driven directly by the potential drop becomes dominant over the diffuse precipitation, contributing over 90% to the total precipitation. The associated average energy is also enhanced by up to ∼60%, compared to cases without a strong field‐aligned potential drop. The ionospheric conductivity of the regions with discrete electron precipitation was further evaluated by the GLOW model. It is found that Pedersen and Hall conductance in the E region (∼150 km in height) are almost entirely controlled by discrete precipitation if the field‐aligned potential drop is over 10 kilovolts. These results provide quantitative evidence that field‐aligned potential drop strongly modulates the intensity and energy spectrum of precipitating particles and substantially influences the ionospheric electrodynamics. Plain Language Summary: Field‐aligned potential drop in the ionosphere, which occurs around 5,000 km in altitude, plays a key role in the coupling between the magnetosphere and ionosphere. This study uses the Storm‐Time Ring Current Model (STRIM), which includes electric field calculations, to explore how the potential drop affects this coupling. The findings show that the potential drop reduces the pitch angle of particles and increases their energy, leading to a broader loss cone and enhanced particle precipitation into the ionosphere. Additionally, the GLOW model shows that the ionospheric conductivity is mainly controlled by discrete electron precipitation in the region where the potential drop exceeds 10 kV. Key Points: During geomagnetic storms, the field‐aligned potential drop can be quite large, reaching several kilovoltsField‐aligned potential drop significantly reduces the pitch angle of electrons and increases their energyDiscrete precipitation flux could make a significant contribution to ionospheric conductivity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1029/2025JA034795
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Voltage
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Magnetospheric physics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ionospheric electron density
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Particle scattering functions
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Effect of Field‐Aligned Potential Drop on Electron Precipitation and Ionospheric Conductivity.
        Type: main
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      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Wu, Haijun
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            NameFull: Yu, Yiqun
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            NameFull: Ma, Longxing
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            NameFull: An, Depeng
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            NameFull: Wei, Ziming
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            NameFull: Tang, Linhui
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            NameFull: Cao, Jinbin
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            – D: 01
              M: 04
              Text: Apr2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 21699380
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              Value: 131
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              Value: 4
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics
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