Theories and Simulations in Substorm Research: A Review

Both theory and simulation have played important roles in defining and illuminating the key mechanisms involved in substorms.Basic theories of magnetic reconnection and of interchange and ballooning instabilities were developed more than 50 years ago,and these plasma physical concepts have been central in discussions of substorm physics.A vast amount of research on reconnection,including both theoretical and computational studies,has helped provide a picture of how reconnection operates in the collisionless...