| 1. |
- Fadanelli, S., et al.
(author)
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Four-Spacecraft Measurements of the Shape and Dimensionality of Magnetic Structures in the Near-Earth Plasma Environment
- 2019
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 124:8, s. 6850-6868
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a new method for determining the main relevant features of the local magnetic field configuration, based entirely on the knowledge of the magnetic field gradient four‐spacecraft measurements. The method, named “magnetic configuration analysis” (MCA), estimates the spatial scales on which the magnetic field varies locally. While it directly derives from the well‐known magnetic directional derivative and magnetic rotational analysis procedures (Shi et al., 2005, htpps://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL022454; Shen et al., 2007, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JA011584), MCA was specifically designed to address the actual magnetic field geometry. By applying MCA to multispacecraft data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) satellites, we perform both case and statistical analyses of local magnetic field shape and dimensionality at very high cadence and small scales. We apply this technique to different near‐Earth environments and define a classification scheme for the type of configuration observed. While our case studies allow us to benchmark the method with those used in past works, our statistical analysis unveils the typical shape of magnetic configurations and their statistical distributions. We show that small‐scale magnetic configurations are generally elongated, displaying forms of cigar and blade shapes, but occasionally being planar in shape like thin pancakes (mostly inside current sheets). Magnetic configurations, however, rarely show isotropy in their magnetic variance. The planar nature of magnetic configurations and, most importantly, their scale lengths strongly depend on the plasma β parameter. Finally, the most invariant direction is statistically aligned with the electric current, reminiscent of the importance of electromagnetic forces in shaping the local magnetic configuration.
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| 2. |
- Kacem, I., et al.
(author)
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Magnetic Reconnection at a Thin Current Sheet Separating Two Interlaced Flux Tubes at the Earth's Magnetopause
- 2018
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:3, s. 1779-1793
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The occurrence of spatially and temporally variable reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause leads to the complex interaction of magnetic fields from the magnetosphere and magnetosheath. Flux transfer events (FTEs) constitute one such type of interaction. Their main characteristics are (1) an enhanced core magnetic field magnitude and (2) a bipolar magnetic field signature in the component normal to the magnetopause, reminiscent of a large-scale helicoidal flux tube magnetic configuration. However, other geometrical configurations which do not fit this classical picture have also been observed. Using high-resolution measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we investigate an event in the vicinity of the Earth's magnetopause on 7 November 2015. Despite signatures that, at first glance, appear consistent with a classic FTE, based on detailed geometrical and dynamical analyses as well as on topological signatures revealed by suprathermal electron properties, we demonstrate that this event is not consistent with a single, homogenous helicoidal structure. Our analysis rather suggests that it consists of the interaction of two separate sets of magnetic field lines with different connectivities. This complex three-dimensional interaction constructively conspires to produce signatures partially consistent with that of an FTE. We also show that, at the interface between the two sets of field lines, where the observed magnetic pileup occurs, a thin and strong current sheet forms with a large ion jet, which may be consistent with magnetic flux dissipation through magnetic reconnection in the interaction region.
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