| 1. |
- Torbert, R. B., et al.
(författare)
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Electron-scale dynamics of the diffusion region during symmetric magnetic reconnection in space
- 2018
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Ingår i: Science. - : AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE. - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 362:6421, s. 1391-1395
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Magnetic reconnection is an energy conversion process that occurs in many astrophysical contexts including Earth's magnetosphere, where the process can be investigated in situ by spacecraft. On 11 July 2017, the four Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft encountered a reconnection site in Earth's magnetotail, where reconnection involves symmetric inflow conditions. The electron-scale plasma measurements revealed (i) super-Alfvenic electron jets reaching 15,000 kilometers per second; (ii) electron meandering motion and acceleration by the electric field, producing multiple crescent-shaped structures in the velocity distributions; and (iii) the spatial dimensions of the electron diffusion region with an aspect ratio of 0.1 to 0.2, consistent with fast reconnection. The well-structured multiple layers of electron populations indicate that the dominant electron dynamics are mostly laminar, despite the presence of turbulence near the reconnection site.
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| 2. |
- Alm, L., et al.
(författare)
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EDR signatures observed by MMS in the 16 October event presented in a 2-D parametric space
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 122:3, s. 3262-3276
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a method for mapping the position of satellites relative to the X line using the measured B-L and B-N components of the magnetic field and apply it to the Magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) encounter with the electron diffusion region (EDR) which occurred on 13:07 UT on 16 October 2015. Mapping the data to our parametric space succeeds in capturing many of the signatures associated with magnetic reconnection and the electron diffusion region. This offers a method for determining where in the reconnection region the satellites were located. In addition, parametric mapping can also be used to present data from numerical simulations. This facilitates comparing data from simulations with data from in situ observations as one can avoid the complicated process using boundary motion analysis to determine the geometry of the reconnection region. In parametric space we can identify the EDR based on the collocation of several reconnection signatures, such as electron nongyrotropy, electron demagnetization, parallel electric fields, and energy dissipation. The EDR extends 2-3km in the normal direction and in excess of 20km in the tangential direction. It is clear that the EDR occurs on the magnetospheric side of the topological X line, which is expected in asymmetric reconnection. Furthermore, we can observe a north-south asymmetry, where the EDR occurs north of the peak in out-of-plane current, which may be due to the small but finite guide field.
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| 3. |
- Farrugia, C. J., et al.
(författare)
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MMS Observations of Reconnection at Dayside Magnetopause Crossings During Transitions of the Solar Wind to Sub-Alfvénic Flow
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : Blackwell Publishing Ltd. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 122:10, s. 9934-9951
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present MMS observations during two dayside magnetopause crossings under hitherto unexamined conditions: (i) when the bow shock is weakening and the solar wind transitioning to sub-Alfvénic flow and (ii) when it is reforming. Interplanetary conditions consist of a magnetic cloud with (i) a strong B (∼20 nT) pointing south and (ii) a density profile with episodic decreases to values of ∼0.3 cm−3 followed by moderate recovery. During the crossings the magnetosheath magnetic field is stronger than the magnetosphere field by a factor of ∼2.2. As a result, during the outbound crossing through the ion diffusion region, MMS observed an inversion of the relative positions of the X and stagnation (S) lines from that typically the case: the S line was closer to the magnetosheath side. The S line appears in the form of a slow expansion fan near which most of the energy dissipation is taking place. While in the magnetosphere between the crossings, MMS observed strong field and flow perturbations, which we argue to be due to kinetic Alfvén waves. During the reconnection interval, whistler mode waves generated by an electron temperature anisotropy (Te⊥>Te∥) were observed. Another aim of the paper is to distinguish bow shock-induced field and flow perturbations from reconnection-related signatures. The high-resolution MMS data together with 2-D hybrid simulations of bow shock dynamics helped us to distinguish between the two sources. We show examples of bow shock-related effects (such as heating) and reconnection effects such as accelerated flows satisfying the Walén relation.
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| 4. |
- Mangold, N., et al.
(författare)
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Perseverance rover reveals an ancient delta-lake system and flood deposits at Jezero crater, Mars
- 2021
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 374:6568
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observations from orbital spacecraft have shown that Jezero crater on Mars contains a prominent fan-shaped body of sedimentary rock deposited at its western margin. The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater in February 2021. We analyze images taken by the rover in the 3 months after landing. The fan has outcrop faces, which were invisible from orbit, that record the hydrological evolution of Jezero crater. We interpret the presence of inclined strata in these outcrops as evidence of deltas that advanced into a lake. In contrast, the uppermost fan strata are composed of boulder conglomerates, which imply deposition by episodic high-energy floods. This sedimentary succession indicates a transition from sustained hydrologic activity in a persistent lake environment to highly energetic short-duration fluvial flows.
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| 5. |
- Stack, K. M., et al.
(författare)
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Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of the Shenandoah Formation, Western Fan, Jezero Crater, Mars
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. - 2169-9097. ; 129:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sedimentary fans are key targets of exploration on Mars because they record the history of surface aqueous activity and habitability. The sedimentary fan extending from the Neretva Vallis breach of Jezero crater's western rim is one of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover's main exploration targets. Perseverance spent ∼250 sols exploring and collecting seven rock cores from the lower ∼25 m of sedimentary rock exposed within the fan's eastern scarp, a sequence informally named the “Shenandoah” formation. This study describes the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Shenandoah formation at two areas, “Cape Nukshak” and “Hawksbill Gap,” including a characterization, interpretation, and depositional framework for the facies that comprise it. The five main facies of the Shenandoah formation include: laminated mudstone, laminated sandstone, low-angle cross stratified sandstone, thin-bedded granule sandstone, and thick-bedded granule-pebble sandstone and conglomerate. These facies are organized into three facies associations (FA): FA1, comprised of laminated and soft sediment-deformed sandstone interbedded with broad, unconfined coarser-grained granule and pebbly sandstone intervals; FA2, comprised predominantly of laterally extensive, soft-sediment deformed laminated, sulfate-bearing mudstone with lenses of low-angle cross-stratified and scoured sandstone; and FA3, comprised of dipping planar, thin-bedded sand-gravel couplets. The depositional model favored for the Shenandoah formation involves the transition from a sand-dominated distal alluvial fan setting (FA1) to a stable, widespread saline lake (FA2), followed by the progradation of a river delta system (FA3) into the lake basin. This sequence records the initiation of a relatively long-lived, habitable lacustrine and deltaic environment within Jezero crater.
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| 6. |
- Torbert, R. B., et al.
(författare)
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Estimates of terms in Ohm's law during an encounter with an electron diffusion region
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:12, s. 5918-5925
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission taken during a reconnection event on the dayside magnetopause which includes a passage through an electron diffusion region (EDR). The four MMS satellites were separated by about 10 km such that estimates of gradients and divergences allow a reasonable estimate of terms in the generalized Ohm's law, which is key to investigating the energy dissipation during reconnection. The strength and character of dissipation mechanisms determines how magnetic energy is released. We show that both electron pressure gradients and electron inertial effects are important, but not the only participants in reconnection near EDRs, since there are residuals of a few mV/m (similar to 30-50%) of E + U-e x B (from the sum of these two terms) during the encounters. These results are compared to a simulation, which exhibits many of the observed features, but where relatively little residual is present.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Farrugia, C. J., et al.
(författare)
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Effects in the Near-Magnetopause Magnetosheath Elicited by Large-Amplitube Alfvenic Fluctuations Terminating in a Field and Flow Discontinuity
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:11, s. 8983-9004
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we report on a sequence of large-amplitude Alfvenic fluctuations terminating in a field and flow discontinuity and their effects on electromagnetic fields and plasmas in the near-magnetopause magnetosheath. An arc-polarized structure in the magnetic field was observed by the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms-C in the solar wind, indicative of nonlinear Alfven waves. It ends with a combined tangential discontinuity/vortex sheet, which is strongly inclined to the ecliptic plane and at which there is a sharp rise in the density and a drop in temperature. Several effects resulting from this structure were observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft in the magnetosheath close to the subsolar point (11:30 magnetic local time) and somewhat south of the geomagnetic equator (-33 degrees magnetic latitude): (i) kinetic Alfven waves; (ii) a peaking of the electric and magnetic field strengths where E . J becomes strong and negative (-1 nW/m(3)) just prior to an abrupt dropout of the fields; (iii) evolution in the pitch angle distribution of energetic (a few tens of kilo-electron-volts) ions (H+, Hen+, and On+) and electrons inside a high-density region, which we attribute to gyrosounding of the tangential discontinuity/vortex sheet structure passing by the spacecraft; (iv) field-aligned acceleration of ions and electrons that could be associated with localized magnetosheath reconnection inside the high-density region; and (v) variable and strong flow changes, which we argue to be unrelated to reconnection at partial magnetopause crossings and likely result from deflections of magnetosheath flow by a locally deformed, oscillating magnetopause.
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| 9. |
- Farrugia, C. J., et al.
(författare)
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Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission observations and non-force free modeling of a flux transfer event immersed in a super-Alfvenic flow
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:12, s. 6070-6077
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We analyze plasma, magnetic field, and electric field data for a flux transfer event (FTE) to highlight improvements in our understanding of these transient reconnection signatures resulting from high-resolution data. The similar to 20 s long, reverse FTE, which occurred south of the geomagnetic equator near dusk, was immersed in super-Alfvenic flow. The field line twist is illustrated by the behavior of flows parallel/perpendicular to the magnetic field. Four-spacecraft timing and energetic particle pitch angle anisotropies indicate a flux rope (FR) connected to the Northern Hemisphere and moving southeast. The flow forces evidently overcame the magnetic tension. The high-speed flows inside the FR were different from those outside. The external flows were perpendicular to the field as expected for draping of the external field around the FR. Modeling the FR analytically, we adopt a non-force free approach since the current perpendicular to the field is nonzero. It reproduces many features of the observations.
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| 10. |
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