This volume surveys our current scientific understanding of the terrestrial aurora. It is organized into eleven reviews detailing theoretical and observational aspects of characteristic auroral morphologies, and how these in turn are organized according to local time, latitude, and activity level. Popular descriptions often attribute the aurora to the interaction of charged particles from the solar wind with atoms in the upper atmosphere. In fact, most auroras are not the result of direct entry of solar wind particles. Rather, as detailed in this volume, auroral particle acceleration and generation of auroral forms occur primarily within the magnetosphere. Importantly, many key aspects of the aurora – most notably, the physical mechanisms responsible for the generation of discrete arcs – are still unexplained, and auroral physics continues to be an active area of scientific research. Each review chapter therefore includes a summary of open questions for further investigation. Providing the first comprehensive review of the terrestrial aurora in two decades, this book will aid both active researchers and newcomers interested in understanding the current state of the field. Previously published Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Auroral Physics”

This volume gives a broad synthesis of the current knowledge and understanding of the plasma physics behind the aurora. The aurora is not only one of the most spectacular natural phenomena on Earth, but the underlying physical processes are expected to be ubiquitous in the plasma universe. Recognizing the enormous progress made over the last decade) through in situ and groundbased measurements as well as theoretical modelling, it seemed timely to write the first comprehensive and integrated book on the subject. Recent advances concern the clarification of the nature of the acceleration process of the electrons that are responsible for the visible aurora, the recognition of the fundamental role of the large-scale current systems in organizing the auroral morphology, and of the interplay between particles and electromagnetic fields.

This book builds on the fluid and kinetic theory of equilibria and waves presented in a companion textbook, Basic Space Plasma Physics (by the same authors), but can also serve as a stand-alone text. It extends the field covered there into the domain of plasma instability and nonlinear theory.The book provides a representative selection of the many possible macro- and microinstabilities in a space plasma, from the Rayleigh-Taylor and Kelvin-Helmholtz to electrostatic and electromagnetic kinetic instabilities. Their quasilinear stabilization and nonlinear evolution and their application to space physics problems are treated. The chapters on nonlinear theory include nonlinear waves, weak turbulence and strong turbulence, all presented from the viewpoint of their relevance to space plasma physics. Special topics include auroral particle acceleration, soliton formation and caviton collapse, anomalous transport, and the theory of collisionless shocks.

Advanced undergraduate/beginning graduate text on space and laboratory plasma physics.

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 80. The auroral zone is a region in which complex plasma dynamics take place. This region has been studied in great detail by sounding rocket and satellite experiments, as well as through ground-based observations. The primary focus of this volume is advances made in auroral research in the last 10 years. Main areas of concern are the global morphology of the auroral zone, auroral acceleration processes, parallel electric fields, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling and waves and turbulence in the auroral zone, as well as the role played by active auroral experiments. The recent results from the Viking and Akebono satellites are considered, and the current state of the field is assessed in preparation for new missions such as Fast, Freja, and the ISTP program. This volume will serve to disseminate these results to the wider space physics community.