A KINETIC-MODEL OF THE PLASMA SHEET - ISOTROPIC NONUNIFORM PLASMA TEMPERATURE

A steady state kinetic model of the plasma sheet is formulated without the electric field. The electron and ion distribution functions in th e model are two-component Maxwellians. The bi-Maxwellian distribution function is needed to allow the temperature to be nonuniform. The pres ent model of the plasma sheet is constructed based on the exact consta nts of the particle motion. Therefore the ion and electron dynamics, i ncluding the nonadiabatic particle behavior in the plasma sheet, are f ully self-consistent with the magnetic field of the model. The magneti c field configuration and the ion temperature predicted by the model a re in good agreement with observations in the plasma sheet under quiet conditions. The number density and the current density in the model a re monotonically increasing toward Earth, which makes the present mode l inapplicable to the inner edge of the plasma sheet.