Comparing two-mode pulsating aurora with GEMINI model output

The ionospheric structure of pulsating aurora bears further investigation, in particular to understand the drivers of pulsating aurora and the impact those drivers have on the electrodynamics of pulsating aurora. This study aims to use the Geospace Environment Model of Ion-Neutral Interactions (or GEMINI) model to investigate pulsating auroral electrodynamics. We compare our simulations with a simplified analytic model from Oguti and Hayashi (1984), as a first step. The GEMINI program was utilized to simulate a simple pulsating aurora structure, modulating the characteristic energy of precipitating electrons and the period of pulsation across a range of hypothetical values. In addition to this, some simulations with modulating field-aligned boundary currents were input to compare with results from the SWARM satellite. This wide array of simulations has revealed the impact of the characteristic energy of precipitating electrons, as well as the period of oscillation, on the peak electron density and the height thereof. These electron density changes drive changes in the Hall and Pedersen conductivities which impacts the overall electrodynamic circuit.