scholarly journals Investigating the nature of the link between magnetic field orientation and proton temperature in the solar wind

2019 ◽  
Vol 632 ◽  
pp. A92 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D’Amicis ◽  
R. De Marco ◽  
R. Bruno ◽  
D. Perrone
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Interplanetary Space ◽  
Angular Displacement ◽  
Local Magnetic Field ◽  
Temperature Anisotropy ◽  
Field Orientation ◽  
Magnetic Field Orientation ◽  
Proton Temperature

Solar wind fluctuations are a mixture of propagating disturbances and advected structures that transfer into the interplanetary space the complicated magnetic topology present at the basis of the corona. The large-scale interplanetary magnetic field introduces a preferential direction in the solar wind, which is particularly relevant for both the propagation of the fluctuations and their anisotropy and for the topology of the structures advected by the wind. This paper focusses on a particular link observed between angular displacements of the local magnetic field orientation from the radial direction and values of the proton temperature. In particular, we find that observations by Helios and Wind show a positive correlation between proton temperature and magnetic field orientation. This is especially true within Alfvénic wind characterized by large-amplitude fluctuations of the background field orientation. Moreover, in the case of Wind, we found a robust dependence of the perpendicular component of the proton temperature on the magnetic field angular displacement. We interpret this signature as possibly due to a physical mechanism related to the proton cyclotron resonance. Finally, by simulating the sampling procedure of the proton velocity distribution function (VDF) of an electrostatic analyzer, we show that the observed temperature anisotropy is not due to instrumental effects.

scholarly journals Dependence of solar wind speed on the local magnetic field orientation: Role of Alfvénic fluctuations

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Matteini ◽  
Timothy S. Horbury ◽  
Marcia Neugebauer ◽  
Bruce E. Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Solar Wind Speed ◽  
Local Magnetic Field ◽  
Field Orientation ◽  
Magnetic Field Orientation

scholarly journals Formation of the Musca filament: evidence for asymmetries in the accretion flow due to a cloud–cloud collision

2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A27
Author(s):  
L. Bonne ◽  
S. Bontemps ◽  
N. Schneider ◽  
S. D. Clarke ◽  
D. Arzoumanian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Radiative Transfer ◽  
Velocity Gradient ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Transverse Velocity ◽  
Local Magnetic Field ◽  
Filament Formation ◽  
Field Orientation ◽  
Physical Conditions ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Context. Dense molecular filaments are ubiquituous in the interstellar medium, yet their internal physical conditions and the role of gravity, turbulence, the magnetic field, radiation, and the ambient cloud during their evolution remain debated. Aims. We study the kinematics and physical conditions in the Musca filament, the ambient cloud, and the Chamaeleon-Musca complex to constrain the physics of filament formation. Methods. We produced CO(2–1) isotopologue maps with the APEX telescope that cut through the Musca filament. We further study a NANTEN2 12CO(1–0) map of the full Musca cloud, H I emission of the Chamaeleon-Musca complex, a Planck polarisation map, line radiative transfer models, Gaia data, and synthetic observations from filament formation simulations. Results. The Musca cloud, with a size of ~3–6 pc, contains multiple velocity components. Radiative transfer modelling of the CO emission indicates that the Musca filament consists of a cold (~10 K), dense (nH2 ∼ 104 cm−3) crest, which is best described with a cylindrical geometry. Connected to the crest, a separate gas component at T ~ 15 K and nH2 ∼ 103 cm−3 is found, the so-called strands. The velocity-coherent filament crest has an organised transverse velocity gradient that is linked to the kinematics of the nearby ambient cloud. This velocity gradient has an angle ≥30° with respect to the local magnetic field orientation derived from Planck, and the magnitude of the velocity gradient is similar to the transonic linewidth of the filament crest. Studying the large scale kinematics, we find coherence of the asymmetric kinematics from the 50 pc H I cloud down to the Musca filament. We also report a strong [C18O]/[13CO] abundance drop by an order of magnitude from the filament crest to the strands over a distance <0.2 pc in a weak ambient far-ultraviolet (FUV) field. Conclusions. The dense Musca filament crest is a long-lived (several crossing times), dynamic structure that can form stars in the near future because of continuous mass accretion replenishing the filament. This mass accretion on the filament appears to be triggered by a H I cloud–cloud collision, which bends the magnetic field around dense filaments. This bending of the magnetic field is then responsible for the observed asymmetric accretion scenario of the Musca filament, which is, for instance, seen as a V-shape in the position–velocity (PV) diagram.

Solar wind temperature anisotropy and its influence on the spectrum of turbulence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Pitňa ◽  
Jana Šafránkova ◽  
Zdeněk Němeček
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
Solar Wind Plasma ◽  
Turbulent Medium ◽  
Thermal Velocity ◽  
Temperature Anisotropy ◽  
Ion Density ◽  
Proton Temperature ◽  
Wind Spacecraft

&lt;p&gt;Nearly collisionless solar wind plasma originating in the solar corona is a turbulent medium. The energy within large scale fluctuations is continuously transferred into smaller scales and it eventually reaches scales at which it is converted into a random particle motion, thus heating the plasma. Although the processes that take place within this complex system have been studied for decades, many questions remain unresolved. The power spectra of the fluctuating fields of the magnetic field, bulk velocity, and ion density were studied extensively; however, the spectrum of the thermal velocity is seldom reported and/or discussed. In this paper, we address the difficulty of estimating its power spectrum. We analyze high-cadence (31 ms) thermal velocity measurements of the BMSW instrument onboard the Spektr-R spacecraft and the SWE instrument onboard the Wind spacecraft. We discuss the role of the proton temperature anisotropy (parallel/perpendicular) and its influence on the shape of the power spectra in the inertial range of turbulence.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Geometry of Magnetic Fluctuations near the Sun from the Parker Solar Probe

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (2) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
R. Bandyopadhyay ◽  
D. J. McComas
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Inertial Range ◽  
Local Magnetic Field ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Magnetic Fluctuations ◽  
Outer Scale ◽  
Degree Of Anisotropy ◽  
Dissipation Range

Abstract Solar wind magnetic fluctuations exhibit anisotropy due to the presence of a mean magnetic field in the form of the Parker spiral. Close to the Sun, direct measurements were not available until the recently launched Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission. The nature of the anisotropy and geometry of the magnetic fluctuations play a fundamental role in dissipation processes and in the transport of energetic particles in space. Using PSP data, we present measurements of the geometry and anisotropy of the inner heliosphere magnetic fluctuations, from fluid to kinetic scales. The results are surprising and different from 1 au observations. We find that fluctuations evolve characteristically with size scale. However, unlike 1 au solar wind, at the outer scale, the fluctuations are dominated by wavevectors quasi-parallel to the local magnetic field. In the inertial range, average wavevectors become less field aligned, but still remain more field aligned than near-Earth solar wind. In the dissipation range, the wavevectors become almost perpendicular to the local magnetic field in the dissipation range, to a much higher degree than those indicated by 1 au observations. We propose that this reduced degree of anisotropy in the outer scale and inertial range is due to the nature of large-scale forcing outside the solar corona.

scholarly journals Dayside magnetopause transients correlated with changes of the magnetosheath magnetic field orientation

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Tkachenko ◽  
J. Šafránková ◽  
Z. Němeček ◽  
D. G. Sibeck
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Surface Deformation ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Field Orientation ◽  
Magnetic Field Orientation ◽  
Flux Transfer Events ◽  
Dayside Magnetopause ◽  
Transient Events ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Abstract. The paper analyses one long-term pass (26 August 2007) of the THEMIS spacecraft across the dayside low-latitude magnetopause. THEMIS B, serving partly as a magnetosheath monitor, observed several changes of the magnetic field that were accompanied by dynamic changes of the magnetopause location and/or the structure of magnetopause layers observed by THEMIS C, D, and E, whereas THEMIS A scanned the inner magnetosphere. We discuss the plasma and the magnetic field data with motivation to identify sources of observed quasiperiodic plasma transients. Such events at the magnetopause are usually attributed to pressure pulses coming from the solar wind, foreshock fluctuations, flux transfer events or surface waves. The presented transient events differ in nature (the magnetopause surface deformation, the low-latitude boundary layer thickening, the crossing of the reconnection site), but we found that all of them are associated with changes of the magnetosheath magnetic field orientation and with enhancements or depressions of the plasma density. Since these features are not observed in the data of upstream monitors, the study emphasizes the role of magnetosheath fluctuations in the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling.

scholarly journals Magnetopause magnetic barrier parameters in dependence on the solar wind magnetic field orientation

1995 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 828-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. Pudovkin ◽  
S. A. Zaitseva ◽  
B. P. Besser
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Field Strength ◽  
Interplanetary Magnetic Field ◽  
Opposite Effect ◽  
Field Orientation ◽  
Magnetic Field Orientation ◽  
Dayside Magnetopause ◽  
Solar Wind Magnetic Field ◽  
Theoretical Predictions

Abstract. Some theories predict the magnetosheath magnetic field strength will decrease and the density increase just outside the dayside magnetopause as the interplanetary magnetic field turns southward. Two studies have recently reported results which confirm these expectations. In contrast, we briefly review our own theoretical predictions which indicate that precisely the opposite effect is expected. We survey new and previously reported magnetosheath observations and demonstrate that they are consistent with the predictions of our model. The conflicting results indicate a need for further theoretical and observational work.

Plasma distribution and magnetic field orientation in the Venus near wake: Solar wind control of the nightside ionopause

1983 ◽  
Vol 88 (A11) ◽  
pp. 9019-9025 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Pérez-De-Tejada ◽  
M. Dryer ◽  
D. S. Intriligator ◽  
C. T. Russell ◽  
L. H. Brace
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Near Wake ◽  
Field Orientation ◽  
Magnetic Field Orientation ◽  
Plasma Distribution

scholarly journals An observational correlation between magnetic field, angular momentum and fragmentation in the envelopes of Class 0 protostars?

2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A47
Author(s):  
Maud Galametz ◽  
Anaëlle Maury ◽  
Josep M. Girart ◽  
Ramprasad Rao ◽  
Qizhou Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Line Emission ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Field Orientation ◽  
Multiple Systems ◽  
Magnetic Field Orientation ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Aims. The main goal of the following analysis is to assess the potential role of magnetic fields in regulating the envelope rotation, the formation of disks and the fragmentation of Class 0 protostars in multiple systems. Methods. We use the Submillimeter Array to carry out observations of the dust polarized emission at 0.87 mm, in the envelopes of a large sample of 20 Class 0 protostars. We estimate the mean magnetic field orientation over the central 1000 au envelope scales to characterize the orientation of the main component of the organized magnetic field at the envelope scales in these embedded protostars. This direction is compared to that of the protostellar outflow in order to study the relation between their misalignment and the kinematics of the circumstellar gas. The latter is traced via velocity gradient observed in the molecular line emission (mainly N2H+) of the gas at intermediate envelope scales. Results. We discover a strong relationship between the misalignment of the magnetic field orientation with the outflow and the amount of angular momentum observed at similar scales in the protostellar envelope, revealing a potential link between the kinetic and the magnetic energy at envelope scales. The relation could be driven by favored B-misalignments in more dynamical envelopes or a dependence of the envelope dynamics with the large-scale B initial configuration. Comparing the trend with the presence of fragmentation, we observe that single sources are mostly associated with conditions of low angular momentum in the inner envelope and good alignment of the magnetic field with protostellar outflows, at intermediate scales. Our results suggest that the properties of the magnetic field in protostellar envelopes bear a tight relationship with the rotating-infalling gas directly involved in the star and disk formation: we find that it may not only influence the fragmentation of protostellar cores into multiple stellar systems, but also set the conditions establishing the pristine properties of planet-forming disks.

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