Uses and limitations of the Tsyganenko magnetic field models

The Tsyganenko models contain 'modules' for two external current systems, the tail and ring currents; the former is the more detailed. No specific modules, however, cover the magnetopause and the Birkeland current system. The effects of these currents are represented by an all-purpose 'polynomial', and the resulting formulas involve about 30 parameters that specify the model. The dependence on magnetospheric indices is also simplified.