Magnetopause Plasma Parameters and Asymmetries in Solar Wind–Magnetosphere Coupling

The behavior of solar wind–magnetosphere coupling through the Earth's magnetopause is a function of the local plasma and magnetic field parameters. On the dayside, the parameters can change by orders of magnitude and exhibit asymmetries both on the magnetosheath and magnetospheric side of the boundary. Physical mechanisms capable of generating dawn-dusk asymmetries are discussed and applied to coupling due to magnetic reconnection and Kelvin-Helmholtz waves. Particular focus is applied to internal magnetospheric populations and their role in solar wind–magnetosphere coupling.