Tail modeling in a stretched magnetosphere. I - Methods and transformations

Abstract

A new method is developed for representing the magnetospheric field B as a distorted dipole field. Because Delta-B = 0 must be maintained, such a distortion may be viewed as a transformation of the vector potential A. The simplest form is a one-dimensional 'stretch transformation' along the x axis, concisely represented by the 'stretch function' f(x), which is also a convenient tool for representing features of the substorm cycle. One-dimensional stretch transformations are extended to spherical, cylindrical, and parabolic coordinates and then to arbitrary coordinates. It is shown that distortion transformations can be viewed as mappings of field lines from one pattern to another; the final result only requires knowledge of the field and not of the potentials. General transformations in Cartesian and arbitrary coordinates are derived, and applications to field modeling, field line motion, MHD modeling, and incompressible fluid dynamics are considered.