NPG Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics NPG Nonlin. Processes Geophys. 1607-7946 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/npg-10-65-2003 Some theoretical models for solitary structures of boundary layer waves Lakhina G. S. 1 Tsurutani B. T. 2 Singh S. V. 3 Reddy R. V. 3 Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Colaba, Mumbai, India Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Colaba, Mumbai, India 30 04 2003 10 1/2 65 73 Copyright: © 2003 G. S. Lakhina et al. 2003 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ This article is available from https://npg.copernicus.org/articles/10/65/2003/npg-10-65-2003.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://npg.copernicus.org/articles/10/65/2003/npg-10-65-2003.pdf

Solitary electrostatic structures have been observed in and around auroral zone field lines at various altitudes ranging from close to the ionosphere, to the magnetopause low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) and cusp on the dayside, and to the plasma sheet boundary layer on the night-side. In this review, various models based on solitons/double layers and BGK modes or phase space holes are discussed in order to explain the characteristics of these solitary structures.