Substorm-associated large-scale magnetic field changes in the magnetotail: a prerequisite for "magnetotail deflation" events

Abstract. An attempt is made to search for a critical condition in the lobe magnetic field to initiate large-scale magnetic field changes associated with substorm expansions. Using data from ISEE-1 for 1978, sudden decreases in the lobe magnetic field accompanied by magnetic field dipolarizations are identified. In this study, such events are designated as the magnetotail deflation. The magnetic field component parallel to the equatorial plane, B_E , is normalized to a fixed geocentric distance, B_EN , and is corrected for the compression effect of the solar wind dynamic pres-sure, B_ENC . It is shown that the B_ENC value just prior to a magnetotail deflation correlates well with the Dst index; B_ENC = 37.5 - 0.217 Dst₀, where Dst₀ denotes the Dst value corrected for the solar wind dynamic pressure. This regression function appears to delineate the upper limit of B_ENC values, when they are sorted by the Dst₀ index. On the basis of this finding it is suggested that a prerequisite condition for magnetotail deflations must exist in the magnetosphere.

Key words. Magnetospheric physics (magnetotail; current systems; storms and substorms)