Abstract
Using analytical and numerical methods, it is shown that all the basic forms of the active arcs can be described within the framework of a nonlinear Alfven wave model. The auroral forms are then considered as nonlinear two-dimensional Alfven vortex structures that are uniform along the ambient magnetic field. They can exist in a cold inhomogeneous plasma, e.g., the Earth's ionosphere. Large-scale spirals and folds can recover the initial form of a typical arc. In the case of a small solitary disturbance of the current density or a sharp bending of the current sheets, vortex chains are formed in the spirals and the folds.>