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Table 1 Results of test of magnetic energy invariance between our apex description and a geocentric description

From: Sunlight effects on the 3D polar current system determined from low Earth orbit measurements

Estimated geocentric model components

A priori synthetic models (apex)

Pol. + tor. (%)

tor. only (%)

pol. only (%)

Poloidal + toroidal

   

Magnetic energy

99.9

99.9

99.9

Poloidal only

   

Magnetic energy

19.5

0.0

99.9

Toroidal only

   

Magnetic energy

80.5

99.9

0.0

  1. The columns represent three synthetic test models, defined in apex coordinates, with the possible combinations of toroidal and poloidal components. Field values are fitted by a model defined in geocentric coordinates, and the toroidal and poloidal components of that model are compared to the original. The numbers show the magnetic energy on a global grid as a fraction (in %) of the magnetic energy in the corresponding (apex coordinate) synthetic model. The fraction of poloidal (toroidal) energy in the synthetic model was 19.4 % (80.6 %)