Dipole field model functions

The dip contains functions corresponding to the dipole field model.

B(r[, mlat, planet])

The dipole model of magnetic field.

B0(r[, planet])

Magnetic field value at the magnetic equator.

T(al)

Approximation of the integral function T related to the bounce period, derived in the dipole approximation.

Y(al)

Approximation of the integral function Y related to the second adiabatic invariant, derived in the dipole approximation.

al_lc(L)

Equatorial loss-cone pitch angle, \(\alpha_{lc}\), in a dipole field at the surface of the planet, as a function of L-shell.

Functions

rbamlib.models.dip.B(r, mlat=0, planet='Earth')

The dipole model of magnetic field.

Parameters:
  • r (float or ndarray) – The distance from the center of the planet, in planet’s radii.

  • mlat (float or ndarray, default = 0) – The magnetic latitude (MLAT), or geomagnetic latitude, is measured northwards from the equator in radians

  • planet (str, default = 'Earth') – The planet.

Returns:

The magnetic field strength, in Gauss.

Return type:

float or ndarray

rbamlib.models.dip.B0(r, planet='Earth')

Magnetic field value at the magnetic equator.

Simplified calculation of the magnetic field at the magnetic equator.

Parameters:
  • r (float or ndarray) – The distance from the center of the planet, in planet’s radii.

  • planet (str, default = 'Earth') – The planet.

Returns:

The magnetic field strength, in Gauss.

Return type:

float or ndarray

rbamlib.models.dip.T(al)

Approximation of the integral function T related to the bounce period, derived in the dipole approximation.

Parameters:

al (float or ndarray) – Equatorial pitch angle, in radians.

Returns:

Value of T

Return type:

float or ndarray

Notes

See Schulz and Lanzerotti [1974].

\[T( \alpha ) \approx T_0 - \frac{1}{2}(T_0 - T_1) \cdot \left( \sin( \alpha ) + \sin( \alpha)^1/2 \right)\]
rbamlib.models.dip.Y(al)

Approximation of the integral function Y related to the second adiabatic invariant, derived in the dipole approximation.

Parameters:

al (float or ndarray) – Equatorial pitch angle, in radians.

Returns:

Value of Y

Return type:

float or ndarray

Notes

See Schulz and Lanzerotti [1974].

\[Y( \alpha ) \approx 2(1 - \sin( \alpha ))T_0 + (T_0 - T_1) \cdot \left( \sin( \alpha ) \cdot \ln( \sin( \alpha ) ) + 2 \sin( \alpha ) - 2 \sqrt{ \sin( \alpha ) } \right) Y(0) = 2 \cdot T(0)\]
rbamlib.models.dip.al_lc(L)

Equatorial loss-cone pitch angle, \(\alpha_{lc}\), in a dipole field at the surface of the planet, as a function of L-shell.

Parameters:

L (float or ndarray) – McIlwain L-shell

Returns:

Equatorial loss-cone pitch angle \(\alpha_{lc}\) in radians.

Return type:

float or ndarray

Notes

Deriviation (based on chapter 3.4 of Roederer and Zhang [2016])

  1. Magnetic moment \(\mu\) conservation:

\[\mu = \frac{m v_\perp^2}{2B} = \text{const} \;\Rightarrow\; \sin^2\alpha_{lc} = \frac{B_{eq}}{B_{lc}}.\]

\(m\) - mass, \(v_\perp\) - velocity, \(B\) - magnetic field, \(\alpha\) - pitch angle

  1. Dipole magnitude:

\[\begin{split}B(r,\lambda) = B_0\left(\frac{R}{r}\right)^3 \sqrt{1+3\sin^2\lambda}, \\ B_{eq} = B_0 / L^3, (\lambda=0,\; r=L R)\end{split}\]

\(R\) - planet radius, \(\lambda\) - magnetic latitude

  1. Field line & mirror field:

\[\begin{split}\begin{aligned} r &= L R \cos^2\lambda, \\ r &= R \Rightarrow \cos^2\lambda_{lc} = \frac{1}{L_{lc}}, \quad \sin^2\lambda_{lc} = 1-\frac{1}{L_{lc}}, \\ B_{lc} &= B_0\sqrt{4-\frac{3}{L}}. \end{aligned}\end{split}\]
  1. Loss-cone:

\[\sin^2\alpha_{lc} = \frac{B_{eq}}{B_{lc}} = \frac{1}{L^3\sqrt{4-\frac{3}{L}}}, \qquad \alpha_{lc} = \arcsin\left[ \frac{1}{L^{3/2}(4-3/L)^{1/4}} \right].\]

Examples

>>> np.rad2deg(al_lc(4.0))
5.34184...