Mirror force induced wave dispersion in Alfven waves

Recent hybrid MHD-kinetic electron simulations of global scale standing shear Alfven waves along the Earth's closed dipolar magnetic field lines show that the upward parallel current region within these waves saturates and broadens perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field and that this broadening increases with the electron temperature. Using resistive MHD simulations, with a parallel Ohm's law derived from the linear Knight relation (which expresses the current-voltage relationship along an auroral field line), we explore the nature of this broadening in the context of the increased perpendicular Poynting flux resulting from the increased parallel electric field associated with mirror force effects. This increased Poynting flux facilitates wave energy dispersion across field lines which in-turn allows for electron acceleration to carry the field aligned current on adjacent field lines. This mirror force driven dispersion can dominate over that associated with electron inertial effects for global scale waves. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.