Neptune's polar cusp region - Observations and magnetic field analysis

This paper confirms and extends the results of Szabo et al. (1991) (which demonstrated some similarities of the Neptune's polar cusp region to the earth's cusp), but uses a different approach requiring plasma and vector magnetic field quantities. In addition, various MHD properties of the cusp-magnetopause boundary, which separates the cusp from the magnetosheath allowing thermal anisotropy, are obtained, including the magnetopause (MP) normal, mass, and normal momentum flux, the boundary speed (and thickness), and their relationships. Results demonstrate that the MP velocity is composed of two components: a propagation speed and the other component consistent with the rotational motion of the magnetosphere.