A model of ionospheric image structure underneath a braking, cross-field plasma jet
A plasma jetting across the geomagnetic field above the ionosphere tends to brake by ohmic dissipation of Pedersen currents. The braking can affect the ionosphere underneath if the associated Pedersen drifts are intense and prolonged enough to cause cumulative image structuring. Here, such image structuring is studied for the parameter regime of forthcoming releases from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite, involving photoionization of kilograms of barium vapor moving at orbital velocity. The resultant structuring in the upper E-region offers possible diagnostic telltales of the braking process.