| 1. |
- Hwang, K-J, et al.
(författare)
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Magnetic Reconnection Inside a Flux Rope Induced by Kelvin-Helmholtz Vortices
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 125:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- On 5 May 2017, MMS observed a crater-type flux rope on the dawnside tailward magnetopause with fluctuations. The boundary-normal analysis shows that the fluctuations can be attributed to nonlinear Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) waves. Reconnection signatures such as flow reversals and Joule dissipation were identified at the leading and trailing edges of the flux rope. In particular, strong northward electron jets observed at the trailing edge indicated midlatitude reconnection associated with the 3-D structure of the KH vortex. The scale size of the flux rope, together with reconnection signatures, strongly supports the interpretation that the flux rope was generated locally by KH vortex-induced reconnection. The center of the flux rope also displayed signatures of guide-field reconnection (out-of-plane electron jets, parallel electron heating, and Joule dissipation). These signatures indicate that an interface between two interlinked flux tubes was undergoing interaction, causing a local magnetic depression, resulting in an M-shaped crater flux rope, as supported by reconstruction.
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| 2. |
- Hwang, K. -J, et al.
(författare)
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Small-Scale Flux Transfer Events Formed in the Reconnection Exhaust Region Between Two X Lines
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:10, s. 8473-8488
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report MMS observations of the ion-scale flux transfer events (FTEs) that may involve two main X lines and tearing instability between the two X lines. The four spacecraft detected multiple isolated regions with enhanced magnetic field strength and bipolar B-n signatures normal to the nominal magnetopause, indicating FTEs. The currents within the FTEs flow mostly parallel to B, and the magnetic tension force is balanced by the total pressure gradient force. During these events, the plasma bulk flow velocity was directed southward. Detailed analysis of the magnetic and electric field and plasma moments variations suggests that the FTEs were initially embedded within the exhaust region north of an X line but were later located southward/downstream of a subsequent X line. The cross sections of the individual FTEs are in the range of similar to 2.5-6.8 ion inertial lengths. The observations suggest the formation of multiple secondary FTEs. The presence of an X line in the exhaust region southward of a second X line results from the southward drift of an old X line and the reformation of a new X line. The current layer between the two X lines is unstable to the tearing instability, generating multiple ion-scale flux-rope-type secondary islands.
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| 3. |
- Hwang, K. -J, et al.
(författare)
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Sequential Observations of Flux Transfer Events, Poleward-Moving Auroral Forms, and Polar Cap Patches
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 125:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the observation of solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions using a series of flux transfer events (FTEs) observed by Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission located near the dayside magnetopause on 18 December 2017. The FTEs were observed to propagate duskward and either southward or slightly northward, as predicted under duskward and southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The Cooling model also predicted a significant dawnward propagation of northward-moving FTEs. Near the MMS footprint, a series of poleward-moving auroral forms (PMAFs) occurred almost simultaneously with those FTEs. They propagated poleward and westward, consistent with the modeled FTE propagation. The intervals between FTEs, relatively consistent with those between PMAFs, strongly suggest a one-to-one correspondence between the dayside transients and ionospheric responses. The FTEs embedded in continuous reconnection observed by MMS and corresponding PMAFs individually occurred during persistent auroral activity recorded by an all-sky imager strongly indicate that those FTEs/PMAFs resulted from the temporal modulation of the reconnection rate during continuous reconnection. With the decay of the PMAFs associated with the FTEs, patch-like plasma density enhancements were detected to form and propagate poleward and then dawnward. Propagation to the dawn was also suggested by the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) convection and Global Positioning System (GPS) total electron content data. We relate the temporal variation of the driving solar-wind and magnetospheric mechanism to that of the high-latitude and polar ionospheric responses and estimate the response time.
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| 4. |
- Genestreti, K. J., et al.
(författare)
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MMS Observation of Asymmetric Reconnection Supported by 3-D Electron Pressure Divergence
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:3, s. 1806-1821
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We identify the electron diffusion region (EDR) of a guide field dayside reconnection site encountered by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission and estimate the terms in generalized Ohm's law that controlled energy conversion near the X-point. MMS crossed the moderate-shear (similar to 130 degrees) magnetopause southward of the exact X-point. MMS likely entered the magnetopause far from the X-point, outside the EDR, as the size of the reconnection layer was less than but comparable to the magnetosheath proton gyroradius, and also as anisotropic gyrotropic "outflow" crescent electron distributions were observed. MMS then approached the X-point, where all four spacecraft simultaneously observed signatures of the EDR, for example, an intense out-of-plane electron current, moderate electron agyrotropy, intense electron anisotropy, nonideal electric fields, and nonideal energy conversion. We find that the electric field associated with the nonideal energy conversion is (a) well described by the sum of the electron inertial and pressure divergence terms in generalized Ohms law though (b) the pressure divergence term dominates the inertial term by roughly a factor of 5:1, (c) both the gyrotropic and agyrotropic pressure forces contribute to energy conversion at the X-point, and (d) both out-of-the-reconnection-plane gradients (partial derivative/partial derivative M) and in-plane (partial derivative/partial derivative L, N) in the pressure tensor contribute to energy conversion near the X-point. This indicates that this EDR had some electron-scale structure in the out-of-plane direction during the time when (and at the location where) the reconnection site was observed.
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| 5. |
- Hwang, K. -J, et al.
(författare)
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Microscale Processes Determining Macroscale Evolution of Magnetic Flux Tubes along Earth's Magnetopause
- 2021
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 914:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An important process affecting solar wind-Earth's magnetosphere coupling is nonsteady dayside magnetic reconnection, observationally evidenced by a flux transfer event (FTE) that shows a bipolar variation of the magnetic field component normal to the magnetopause. FTEs often consist of two interlinked flux tubes, but, local kinetic processes between the flux tubes are not understood in the context of the FTE structuring, evolution, and impact. An FTE observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission on 2017 December 18 consisted of two flux tubes of different topology. One includes field lines with ends connected to the northern and southern hemispheres while the other includes field lines with both ends connected to the magnetosheath. Reconnection occurring at the flux-tube interface indicates how interacting flux tubes evolve into a flux rope with helical magnetic topology that is either closed or open. This study demonstrates a new aspect of how micro- to meso-scale dynamics occurring within FTEs determines their macroscale characteristics and evolution.
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| 6. |
- Carter, J. A., et al.
(författare)
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Ground-based and additional science support for SMILE
- 2024
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Ingår i: Earth and Planetary Physics. - : Science Press. - 2096-3955. ; 8:1, s. 275-298
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The joint European Space Agency and Chinese Academy of Sciences Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission will explore global dynamics of the magnetosphere under varying solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field conditions, and simultaneously monitor the auroral response of the Northern Hemisphere ionosphere. Combining these large-scale responses with medium and fine-scale measurements at a variety of cadences by additional ground-based and space-based instruments will enable a much greater scientific impact beyond the original goals of the SMILE mission. Here, we describe current community efforts to prepare for SMILE, and the benefits and context various experiments that have explicitly expressed support for SMILE can offer. A dedicated group of international scientists representing many different experiment types and geographical locations, the Ground-based and Additional Science Working Group, is facilitating these efforts. Preparations include constructing an online SMILE Data Fusion Facility, the discussion of particular or special modes for experiments such as coherent and incoherent scatter radar, and the consideration of particular observing strategies and spacecraft conjunctions. We anticipate growing interest and community engagement with the SMILE mission, and we welcome novel ideas and insights from the solar-terrestrial community.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Mailyan, B., et al.
(författare)
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Transpolar arc observation after solar wind entry into the high-latitude magnetosphere
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 120:5, s. 3525-3534
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, Cluster observations have revealed the presence of new regions of solar wind plasma entry at the high-latitude magnetospheric lobes tailward of the cusp region, mostly during periods of northward interplanetary magnetic field. In this study, observations from the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) experiment on board the TIMED spacecraft and Wideband Imaging Camera imager on board the IMAGE satellite are used to investigate a possible link between solar wind entry and the formation of transpolar arcs in the polar cap. We focus on a case when transpolar arc formation was observed twice right after the two solar wind entry events were detected by the Cluster spacecraft. In addition, GUVI and IMAGE observations show a simultaneous occurrence of auroral activity at low and high latitudes after the second entry event, possibly indicating a two-part structure of the continuous band of the transpolar arc.
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| 9. |
- Marchaudon, A., et al.
(författare)
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Simultaneous double star and cluster ftes observations on the dawnside flank of the magnetosphere
- 2006
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Ingår i: Eur Space Agency Spec Publ ESA SP. - 929092909X - 9789290929093 ; , s. 163-170
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present Cluster and Double Star-1 (TC-1) observations from a close magnetic conjunction on May 8, 2004. The five spacecraft were on the dawnside flank of the magnetosphere, with TC-1 located near the equatorial plane and Cluster at higher geographic latitudes in the southern hemisphere. TC-1, at its apogee, skimmed the magnetopause for almost 8 hours (between 08:00-16:00 UT). Flux Transfer Events (FTEs), moving southward/tailward from the reconnection site, were observed by TC-1 throughout almost all of the period. Cluster, travelling on a mainly dawn-dusk trajectory, crossed the magnetopause at around 10:30 UT in the same Magnetic Local Time (MLT) sector as TC-1 and remained close to the magnetopause boundary layer in the southern hemisphere. The four Cluster spacecraft observed FTEs for a period of 6.5 hours between 07:30 and 14:00 UT. From the properties of these FTEs, the reconnection site was located northward of both TC-1 and Cluster on the dawn flank of the magnetosphere. Reconnection occurred between draped magnetosheath and closed magnetospheric field lines. Despite variable interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions and IMF-B z turnings, the IMF clock-angle remained greater than 70° and the location site appeared to remain relatively stable in position during the whole period. This result is in agreement with previous studies which reported that the dayside reconnection remained active for an IMF clock-angle greater than 70°. The simultaneous observation of FTEs at both Cluster and TC-1, separated by 2 hours in MLT, implies that the reconnection site on the magnetopause must have been extended over several hours in MLT. This event has been already presented in more details in [1].
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| 10. |
- Toledo-Redondo, S., et al.
(författare)
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Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling During Radial Interplanetary Magnetic Field Conditions : Simultaneous Multi-Point Observations
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 126:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In-situ spacecraft missions are powerful assets to study processes that occur in space plasmas. One of their main limitations, however, is extrapolating such local measurements to the global scales of the system. To overcome this problem at least partially, multi-point measurements can be used. There are several multi-spacecraft missions currently operating in the Earth's magnetosphere, and the simultaneous use of the data collected by them provides new insights into the large-scale properties and evolution of magnetospheric plasma processes. In this work, we focus on studying the Earth's magnetopause (MP) using a conjunction between the Magnetospheric Multiscale and Cluster fleets, when both missions skimmed the MP for several hours at distant locations during radial interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The observed MP positions as a function of the evolving solar wind conditions are compared to model predictions of the MP. We observe an inflation of the magnetosphere (similar to 0.7 R-E), consistent with magnetosheath pressure decrease during radial IMF conditions, which is less pronounced on the flank (<0.2 R-E). There is observational evidence of magnetic reconnection in the subsolar region for the whole encounter, and in the dusk flank for the last portion of the encounter, suggesting that reconnection was extending more than 15 R-E. However, reconnection jets were not always observed, suggesting that reconnection was patchy, intermittent or both. Shear flows reduce the reconnection rate up to similar to 30% in the dusk flank according to predictions, and the plasma beta enhancement in the magnetosheath during radial IMF favors reconnection suppression by the diamagnetic drift.
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