LAUSR

It is commonly believed that the magnitude and orientation of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) together with the solar wind (SW) velocity have the most important impact on the cross polar cap potential (φpc), so that little attention has been given to the effect of SW density, especially under northward IMF conditions. Previous studies have shown that φpc increases with SW density as a response to the changes in magnetosheath force balance, while our study shows that φpc has more complicated responses to the SW density depending on the magnitude of IMF rather than a simple linear response as reported previously. The φpc may be insensitive to SW density increasing at moderate IMF Bz (cf. 8 nT) and at intense Bz (20 nT) under large‐density conditions. The different behavior of SW density in regulating φpc is mainly due to the competing effects originated from viscous interaction and magnetic reconnection. Further, the physical mechanisms are explored, including the driving sources of the viscous potential and affecting factors of reconnection potential. These results pave the way for better understanding of the SW density effects on solar wind‐magnetosphere‐ionosphere (SW‐M‐I) interactions.