How Energy Enters the Magnetosphere During a Substorm: A Perspective After 60 Years of Working in the Field

Abstract

This paper begins with a summary of my path into space physics and the following four decades of active research in ionosphere and magnetosphere. The following perspective part addresses the main subject in four steps, from flow braking and diversions prior to substorm onset, via the attachment of the magnetic field carried by the flow bursts, to the transformation of the incoming momentum and energy and their earthward propagation, and finally, the generation of the poleward arcs, auroral electrojet, and substorm current wedge. This is done mostly by a critical assessment of results and concepts from the author's research from 1992 to 2021. The outcome is a new scenario of the origin of the breakup arcs, auroral electrojet, and substorm current wedge.