The polarisation of auroral emissions: A tracer of the E region ionospheric currents

Léo Bosse (1) , Jean Lilensten (1) , Magnar G. Johnsen , Nicolas Gillet (2) , Sylvain Rochat (1) , Alain Delboulbé (1) , Stephane Curaba (3, 1) , Yasunobu Ogawa , Philippe Derverchère , Sébastien Vauclair (4)

1 IPAG - Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble
2 ISTerre - Institut des Sciences de la Terre
3 UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes
4 IRAP - Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie

It is now established that auroral emissions as measured from the ground are polarised. The question of the information given by this polarisation is still to be explored. This article shows the results of a coordinated campaign between an optical polarimeter and several ground-based instruments, including magnetometers, the EISCAT VHF radar, and complementary luminance meters in the visible domain (Ninox). We show that in the E region, the polarisation is a potential indicator of the ionospheric currents, velocity, and dynamics.

Mots clés: Aurora; Polarisation; EISCAT

Domaines: Astrophysique [astro-ph]

Léo Bosse, Jean Lilensten, Magnar G. Johnsen, Nicolas Gillet, Sylvain Rochat, et al.. The polarisation of auroral emissions: A tracer of the E region ionospheric currents. Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate, 2022, 12, pp.17. ⟨10.1051/swsc/2022014⟩. ⟨hal-03674723⟩