| 1. |
- Hwang, K-J, et al.
(author)
-
Magnetic Reconnection Inside a Flux Rope Induced by Kelvin-Helmholtz Vortices
- 2020
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 125:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Small-Scale Flux Transfer Events Formed in the Reconnection Exhaust Region Between Two X Lines
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:10, s. 8473-8488
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Sequential Observations of Flux Transfer Events, Poleward-Moving Auroral Forms, and Polar Cap Patches
- 2020
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 125:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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MMS Observation of Asymmetric Reconnection Supported by 3-D Electron Pressure Divergence
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:3, s. 1806-1821
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Microscale Processes Determining Macroscale Evolution of Magnetic Flux Tubes along Earth's Magnetopause
- 2021
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 914:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Ground-based and additional science support for SMILE
- 2024
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In: Earth and Planetary Physics. - : Science Press. - 2096-3955. ; 8:1, s. 275-298
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Transpolar arc observation after solar wind entry into the high-latitude magnetosphere
- 2015
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 120:5, s. 3525-3534
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Simultaneous double star and cluster ftes observations on the dawnside flank of the magnetosphere
- 2006
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In: Eur Space Agency Spec Publ ESA SP. - 929092909X - 9789290929093 ; , s. 163-170
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)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.
(author)
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Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling During Radial Interplanetary Magnetic Field Conditions : Simultaneous Multi-Point Observations
- 2021
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 126:11
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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| 11. |
- Branduardi-Raymont, G., et al.
(author)
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Exploring solar-terrestrial interactions via multiple imaging observers
- 2022
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In: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Nature. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 54:2-3, s. 361-390
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How does solar wind energy flow through the Earth's magnetosphere, how is it converted and distributed? is the question we want to address. We need to understand how geomagnetic storms and substorms start and grow, not just as a matter of scientific curiosity, but to address a clear and pressing practical problem: space weather, which can influence the performance and reliability of our technological systems, in space and on the ground, and can endanger human life and health. Much knowledge has already been acquired over the past decades, particularly by making use of multiple spacecraft measuring conditions in situ, but the infant stage of space weather forecasting demonstrates that we still have a vast amount of learning to do. A novel global approach is now being taken by a number of space imaging missions which are under development and the first tantalising results of their exploration will be available in the next decade. In this White Paper, submitted to ESA in response to the Voyage 2050 Call, we propose the next step in the quest for a complete understanding of how the Sun controls the Earth's plasma environment: a tomographic imaging approach comprising two spacecraft in highly inclined polar orbits, enabling global imaging of magnetopause and cusps in soft X-rays, of auroral regions in FUV, of plasmasphere and ring current in EUV and ENA (Energetic Neutral Atoms), alongside in situ measurements. Such a mission, encompassing the variety of physical processes determining the conditions of geospace, will be crucial on the way to achieving scientific closure on the question of solar-terrestrial interactions.
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| 12. |
- Carter, J. A., et al.
(author)
-
Dayside reconnection under interplanetary magnetic field B-y-dominated conditions : The formation and movement of bending arcs
- 2015
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 120:4, s. 2967-2978
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Based upon a survey of global auroral images collected by the Polar Ultraviolet Imager, Kullen etal. (2002) subdivided polar cap auroral arcs into a number of categories, including that of bending arcs. We are concerned with those bending arcs that appear as a bifurcation of the dayside auroral oval and which subsequently form a spur intruding into the polar cap. Once formed, the spur moves poleward and antisunward over the lifetime of the arc. We propose that dayside bending arcs are ionospheric signatures of pulses of dayside reconnection and are therefore part of a group of transient phenomena associated with flux transfer events. We observe the formation and subsequent motion of a bending arc across the polar cap during a 30 min interval on 8 January 1999, and we show that this example is consistent with the proposed model. We quantify the motion of the arc and find it to be commensurate with the convection flows observed by both ground-based radar observations and space-based particle flow measurements. In addition, precipitating particles coincident with the arc appear to occur along open field lines, lending further support to the model.
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| 13. |
- Fryer, L. J., et al.
(author)
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3D GUMICS Simulations of Northward IMF Magnetotail Structure
- 2023
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 128:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study presents a re-evaluation of the Kullen and Janhunen (2004, https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-22-951-2004) global northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) simulation, using the Grand Unified Magnetosphere–Ionosphere Coupling Simulation version 4 (GUMICS-4), a global MHD model. We investigate the dynamic coupling between northward IMF conditions and the Earth’s magnetotail and compare the results to observation-based mechanisms for the formation of transpolar arcs. The results of this study reveal that under northward IMF conditions (and northward IMF initialization), a large closed field line region forms in the magnetotail, with similarities to transpolar arc structures observed from spacecraft data. This interpretation is supported by the simultaneous increase of closed flux measured in the magnetotail. However, the reconnection configuration differs in several respects from previously theorized magnetotail structures that have been inferred from both observations and simulations results and associated with transpolar arcs. We observe that dawn–dusk lobe regions form as a result of high-latitude reconnection during the initialization stages, which later come into contact as the change in the IMF By component causes the magnetotail to twist. We conclude that in the GUMICS simulation, transpolar arc-like structures are formed as a result of reconnection in the magnetotail, rather than high-latitude reconnection or due to the mapping of the plasma sheet through a twisted magnetotail as interpreted from previous analysis of GUMICS simulations.
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| 14. |
- Hoilijoki, S., et al.
(author)
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Properties of Magnetic Reconnection and FTEs on the Dayside Magnetopause With and Without Positive IMF Bx Component During Southward IMF
- 2019
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 124:6, s. 4037-4048
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper describes properties and behavior of magnetic reconnection and flux transfer events (FTEs) on the dayside magnetopause using the global hybrid-Vlasov code Vlasiator. We investigate two simulation runs with and without a sunward (positive)B-x component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) when the IMF is southward. The runs are two-dimensional in real space in the noon-midnight meridional (polar) plane and three-dimensional in velocity space. Solar wind input parameters are identical in the two simulations with the exception that the IMF is purely southward in one but tilted 45 degrees toward the Sun in the other. In the purely southward case (i.e., without B-x) the magnitude of the magnetos heath magnetic field component tangential to the magnetopause is larger than in the run with a sunward tilt. This is because the shock normal is perpendicular to the IMF at the equatorial plane, whereas in the other run the shock configuration is oblique and a smaller fraction of the total IMF strength is compressed at the shock crossing. Hence, the measured average and maximum reconnection rate are larger in the purely southward run. The run with tilted IMF also exhibits a north-south asymmetry in the tangential magnetic field caused by the different angle between the IMF and the bow shock normal north and south of the equator. Greater north-south asymmetries are seen in the FTE occurrence rate, size, and velocity as well; FTEs moving toward the Southern Hemisphere are larger in size and observed less frequently than FTEs in the Northern Hemisphere.
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| 15. |
- Lindstedt, T., et al.
(author)
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Separatrix regions of magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause
- 2009
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In: Annales Geophysicae. - : Copernicus Publications. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 27:10, s. 4039-4056
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Using data from the four Cluster spacecraft we study the separatrix regions of magnetic reconnection sites at the dayside magnetopause under conditions when reconnection is occurring in the magnetopause current layer which separates magnetosheath plasma from the hot magnetospheric plasma sheet. We define the separatrix region as the region between the separatrix - the first field line opened by reconnection - and the reconnection jet (outflow region). We analyze eight separatrix region crossings on the magnetospheric side of the magnetopause and present detailed data for two of the events. We show that characteristic widths of the separatrix regions are of the order of ten ion inertial lengths at the magnetopause. Narrow separatrix regions with widths comparable to a few ion inertial lengths are rare. We show that inside the separatrix region there is a density cavity which sometimes has complex internal structure with multiple density dips. Strong electric fields exist inside the separatrix regions and the electric potential drop across the regions can be up to several kV. On the magnetosheath side of the region there is a density gradient with strong field aligned currents. The observed strong electric fields and currents inside the separatrix region can be important for a local energization of ions and electrons, particularly of ionospheric origin, as well as for magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.
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| 16. |
- Trenchi, L., et al.
(author)
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Signatures of Magnetic Separatrices at the Borders of a Crater Flux Transfer Event Connected to an Active X-Line
- 2019
-
In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 124:11, s. 8600-8616
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we present Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations of a flux transfer event (FTE) characterized by a clear signature in the magnetic field magnitude, which shows maximum at the center flanked by two depressions, detected during a period of stable southward interplanetary magnetic field. This class of FTEs are called "crater-FTEs" and have been suggested to be connected with active reconnection X line. The MMS burst mode data allow the identification of intense fluctuations in the components of the electric field and electron velocity parallel to the magnetic field at the borders of the FTE, which are interpreted as signatures of the magnetic separatrices. In particular, the strong and persistent fluctuations of the parallel electron velocity at the borders of this crater-FTE reported for the first time in this paper, sustain the field-aligned current part of the Hall current system along the separatrix layer, and confirm that this FTE is connected with an active reconnection X line. Our observations suggest a stratification of particles inside the reconnection layer, where electrons are flowing toward the X line along the separatrix, are flowing away from the X line along the reconnected field lines adjacent to the separatrices, and more internally ions and electrons are flowing away from the X line with comparable velocities, forming the reconnection jets. This stratification of the reconnection layer forming the FTE, together with the reconnection jet at the trailing edge of the FTE, suggests clearly that this FTE is formed by the single X line generation mechanism.
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| 17. |
- Wild, J. A., et al.
(author)
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Midnight sector observations of auroral omega bands
- 2011
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 116, s. A00I30-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present observations of auroral omega bands on 28 September 2009. Although generally associated with the substorm recovery phase and typically observed in the morning sector, the features presented here occurred just after expansion phase onset and were observed in the midnight sector, dawnward of the onset region. An all-sky imager located in northeastern Iceland revealed that the omega bands were similar to 150 x 200 km in size and propagated eastward at similar to 0.4 km s(-1) while a colocated ground magnetometer recorded the simultaneous occurrence of Ps6 pulsations. Although somewhat smaller and slower moving than the majority of previously reported omega bands, the observed structures are clear examples of this phenomenon, albeit in an atypical location and unusually early in the substorm cycle. The THEMIS C probe provided detailed measurements of the upstream interplanetary environment, while the Cluster satellites were located in the tail plasma sheet conjugate to the ground-based all-sky imager. The Cluster satellites observed bursts of 0.1-3 keV electrons moving parallel to the magnetic field toward the Northern Hemisphere auroral ionosphere; these bursts were associated with increased levels of field-aligned Poynting flux. The in situ measurements are consistent with electron acceleration via shear Alfven waves in the plasma sheet similar to 8 R-E tailward of the Earth. Although a one-to-one association between auroral and magnetospheric features was not found, our observations suggest that Alfven waves in the plasma sheet are responsible for field-aligned currents that cause Ps6 pulsations and auroral brightening in the ionosphere. Our findings agree with the conclusions of earlier studies that auroral omega bands have a source mechanism in the midtail plasma sheet.
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| 18. |
- Kullen, Anita, et al.
(author)
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The statistical difference between bending arcs and regular polar arcs
- 2015
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 120:12, s. 10443-10465
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work, the Polar UVI data set by Kullen et al. (2002) of 74 polar arcs is reinvestigated, focusing on bending arcs. Bending arcs are typically faint and form (depending on interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) B-y direction) on the dawnside or duskside oval with the tip of the arc splitting off the dayside oval. The tip subsequently moves into the polar cap in the antisunward direction, while the arc's nightside end remains attached to the oval, eventually becoming hook-shaped. Our investigation shows that bending arcs appear on the opposite oval side from and farther sunward than most regular polar arcs. They form during B-y-dominated IMF conditions: typically, the IMF clock angle increases from 60 to 90 degrees about 20min before the arc forms. Antisunward plasma flows from the oval into the polar cap just poleward of bending arcs are seen in Super Dual Auroral Radar Network data, indicating dayside reconnection. For regular polar arcs, recently reported characteristics are confirmed in contrast to bending arcs. This includes plasma flows along the nightside oval that originate close to the initial arc location and a significant delay in the correlation between IMF B-y and initial arc location. In our data set, the highest correlations are found with IMF B-y appearing at least 1-2 h before arc formation. In summary, bending arcs are distinctly different from regular arcs and cannot be explained by existing polar arc models. Instead, these results are consistent with the formation mechanism described in Carter et al. (2015), suggesting that bending arcs are caused by dayside reconnection.
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