Comparison of semikinetic and generalized transport models of the polar wind

A comparison has been made, in as consistent a manner as possible, of a transport (bi‐Maxwellian based 16‐moment equations) and a semikinetic description of the terrestrial polar wind. The comparison shows a remarkably close agreement in the corresponding predictions for the altitude variation of the density, drift velocity, parallel and perpendicular (to B) temperatures, and the flow of parallel and perpendicular thermal energies. This close agreement provides further evidence that the bi‐Maxwellian based transport equations are a powerful tool for studying thermal space plasmas that develop non‐Maxwellian features.