scholarly journals Dynamics of the terrestrial radiation belts: a review of recent results during the VarSITI (Variability of the Sun and Its Terrestrial Impact) era, 2014–2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shrikanth Kanekal ◽  
Yoshizumi Miyoshi
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Ring Current ◽  
Plasma Waves ◽  
Radiation Belts ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Plasma Convection ◽  
Outer Radiation Belt ◽  
Inner Magnetosphere

AbstractThe Earth’s magnetosphere is region that is carved out by the solar wind as it flows past and interacts with the terrestrial magnetic field. The inner magnetosphere is the region that contains the plasmasphere, ring current, and the radiation belts all co-located within about 6.6 Re, nominally taken to be bounding this region. This region is highly dynamic and is home to a variety of plasma waves and particle populations ranging in energy from a few eV to relativistic and ultra-relativistic electrons and ions. The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) embedded in the solar wind via the process of magnetic reconnection at the sub-solar point sets up plasma convection and creates the magnetotail. Magnetic reconnection also occurs in the tail and is responsible for explosive phenomena known as substorms. Substorms inject low-energy particles into the inner magnetosphere and help generate and sustain plasma waves. Transients in the solar wind such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), co-rotating interaction regions (CIRs), and interplanetary shocks compress the magnetosphere resulting in geomagnetic storms, energization, and loss of energetic electrons in the outer radiation belt nad enhance the ring current, thereby driving the geomagnetic dynamics. The Specification and Prediction of the Coupled Inner-Magnetospheric Environment (SPeCIMEN) is one of the four elements of VarSITI (Variability of the Sun and Its Terrestrial Impact) program which seeks to quantitatively predict and specify the inner magnetospheric environment based on Sun/solar wind driving inputs. During the past 4 years, the SPeCIMEN project has brought together scientists and researchers from across the world and facilitated their efforts to achieve the project goal. This review provides an overview of some of the significant scientific advances in understanding the dynamical processes and their interconnectedness during the VarSITI era. Major space missions, with instrument suites providing in situ measurements, ground-based programs, progress in theory, and modeling are briefly discussed. Open outstanding questions and future directions of inner magnetospheric research are explored.

scholarly journals Whistler waves observed by Solar Orbiter during its first orbit

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthieu Kretschmar ◽  
Thomas Chust ◽  
Daniel Graham ◽  
Volodya Krasnosekskikh ◽  
Lucas Colomban ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Electromagnetic Waves ◽  
Heliocentric Distance ◽  
Plasma Waves ◽  
Distribution Functions ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Whistler Waves ◽  
Velocity Distribution Functions ◽  
The Waves

<p>Plasma waves can play an important role in the evolution of the solar wind and the particle velocity distribution functions in particular. We analyzed the electromagnetic waves observed above a few Hz by the Radio Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument suite onboard Solar Orbiter, during its first orbit, which covered a distance from the Sun between 1 AU and 0.5 AU.  We identified the majority of the detected waves as whistler waves with frequency around  0.1 f_ce and right handed circular polarisation. We found these waves to be mostly aligned or anti aligned with the ambient magnetic field, and rarely oblique. We also present and discuss their direction of propagation and the variation of the waves' properties with heliocentric distance.</p>

scholarly journals The influence of solar wind turbulence on geomagnetic activity

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Jankovičovà ◽  
Z. Vörös ◽  
J. Šimkanin
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Interplanetary Magnetic Field ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Coupled System ◽  
Statistical Moment ◽  
The Sun ◽  
H Index ◽  
Magnetic Turbulence

Abstract. The importance of space weather and its forecasting is growing as interest in studying geoeffective processes in the Sun – solar wind – magnetosphere – ionosphere coupled system is increasing. In this paper higher order statistical moments of interplanetary magnetic field and geomagnetic SYM-H index fluctuations are compared. The proper description of fluctuations in the solar wind can elucidate important aspects of the geoeffectivity of upstream turbulence and contribute to our understanding of space weather. Our results indicate that quasi-stationary intervals during both quiet and stormy periods have to be investigated in order to find correlations between upstream and geomagnetic conditions. We found that the fourth statistical moment (kurtosis), which was not considered in previous studies, appears to be a new geoeffective parameter. Intermittency of the magnetic turbulence in the solar wind can influence the efficiency of the solar wind – magnetosphere coupling through affecting magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause.

The Magnetosphere of Saturn

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Badman
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Rotation Axis ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Rotating Magnetic Field ◽  
Forthcoming Article ◽  
Azimuthal Component ◽  
Inner Magnetosphere ◽  
The Magnetic Field

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Please check back later for the full article. Saturn’s magnetosphere is the region of space surrounding Saturn that is controlled by the planetary magnetic field. Saturn’s magnetic field is aligned to within 1 degree of the rotation axis and rotates with a period of ~10.7 h. The magnetosphere is compressed on the dayside by the impinging solar wind, and stretched into a long magnetotail on the nightside. Its surface, the magnetopause, is located where the internal and external plasma and magnetic pressures balance. As a result of the pressure distributions, the magnetopause has a bimodal distribution of standoff distance at the sub-solar point and is flattened over the poles relative to the equator. Radiation belts composed of trapped energetic electrons and protons are present in the inner magnetosphere. Their intensity is limited by the moons and rings that can absorb the energetic particles. The icy moons and rings, particularly the cryovolcanic moon Enceladus, are the main sources of mass in the form of water. When the water molecules are ionized they are confined to the equatorial plane by the rapidly rotating magnetic field. This mass-loading acts to distend the magnetic field lines from a dipolar configuration into a radially stretched magnetodisk, with an associated eastward-directed current. In situ measurements of plasma velocity indicate it generally lags behind the planetary rotation, introducing an azimuthal component of the magnetic field. Despite the alignment of the magnetic and rotation axes, so-called planetary period oscillations are ubiquitous in field and plasma measurements in the magnetosphere. Radial transport of plasma involves the centrifugal interchange instability in the inner magnetosphere and magnetic reconnection in the middle and outer magnetosphere. This allows mass from the moons and rings to be lost from the system. The outermost regions of the magnetosphere are also influenced by the surrounding solar wind through magnetic reconnection and viscous interactions. Acceleration via reconnection or other processes, or scattering of plasma into the atmosphere leads to auroral emissions detected at radio, infrared, visible, and ultraviolet wavelengths.

Discontinuity analysis and evolution of magnetic switchbacks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti ◽  
Justin Kasper ◽  
Jia Huang ◽  
Stuart Bale
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Mass Flux ◽  
Minimum Variance ◽  
Shear Angle ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
Global Circulation ◽  
Magnetic Signatures

<p>Magnetic switchbacks are Alfvénic structures characterized as intervals of intermittent reversals in the radial componentof magnetic field. Switchbacks comprise of magnetic spikes preceded/succeeded by quiet, pristine solar wind. Determining switch-back generation and evolution mechanisms will further our understanding of the global circulation and transportation of Sun’s openmagnetic flux. Here, we investigate switchback transition regions using measurements from fields and plasma suites aboard the Parker SolarProbe (PSP). Minimum variance analysis (MVA) is applied on switchback transition region magnetic signatures. Discontinuity analysesare performed on 273 switchback transition regions with robust MVA solutions. Our results indicate that switchbacks are rotational discontinuities (RD) in 214 (or 78%) of the cases. 21% of the switchbacktransition regions are categorized as "either" discontinuity (ED), defined as small relative changes in both magnitude and the normalcomponent of magnetic field. RD-to-ED event count is found to reduce with increasing distance from the Sun. On average, plasmabeta falls by −28% across RD-type switchback transition regions and magnetic shear angle is 60 [deg], therefore making switchbacktransition regions theoretically favorable to local magnetic reconnection. The evolution of switchbacks away from the Sun may involve increasing mass flux across RD-type switchback transition regions. The evolution mechanism(s) remain to be discovered. Our results indicate negligible magnetic curvature across switchback transition regions which may inhibit local magnetic reconnection.</p>

scholarly journals Particle Source and Loss Processes

2021 ◽  
pp. 159-211
Author(s):  
Hannu E. J. Koskinen ◽  
Emilia K. J. Kilpua
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Cosmic Radiation ◽  
Charged Particles ◽  
Radiation Belts ◽  
Great Variability ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Outer Electron ◽  
Inner Magnetosphere ◽  
Near Earth Space ◽  
Scientific Task

AbstractThe main sources of charged particles in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere are the Sun and the Earth’s ionosphere. Furthermore, the Galactic cosmic radiation is an important source of protons in the inner radiation belt, and roughly every 13 years, when the Earth and Jupiter are connected via the interplanetary magnetic field, a small number of electrons originating from the magnetosphere of Jupiter are observed in the near-Earth space. The energies of solar wind and ionospheric plasma particles are much smaller than the particle energies in radiation belts. A major scientific task is to understand the transport and acceleration processes leading to the observed populations up to relativistic energies. Equally important is to understand the losses of the charged particles. The great variability of the outer electron belt is a manifestation of the continuously changing balance between source and loss mechanisms, whereas the inner belt is much more stable.

scholarly journals The Location of Magnetic Reconnection at Earth’s Magnetopause

2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Trattner ◽  
S. M. Petrinec ◽  
S. A. Fuselier
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Ion Beams ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Observational Evidence ◽  
Magnetic Shear ◽  
General Direction ◽  
Shear Model ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractOne of the major questions about magnetic reconnection is how specific solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field conditions influence where reconnection occurs at the Earth’s magnetopause. There are two reconnection scenarios discussed in the literature: a) anti-parallel reconnection and b) component reconnection. Early spacecraft observations were limited to the detection of accelerated ion beams in the magnetopause boundary layer to determine the general direction of the reconnection X-line location with respect to the spacecraft. An improved view of the reconnection location at the magnetopause evolved from ionospheric emissions observed by polar-orbiting imagers. These observations and the observations of accelerated ion beams revealed that both scenarios occur at the magnetopause. Improved methodology using the time-of-flight effect of precipitating ions in the cusp regions and the cutoff velocity of the precipitating and mirroring ion populations was used to pinpoint magnetopause reconnection locations for a wide range of solar wind conditions. The results from these methodologies have been used to construct an empirical reconnection X-line model known as the Maximum Magnetic Shear model. Since this model’s inception, several tests have confirmed its validity and have resulted in modifications to the model for certain solar wind conditions. This review article summarizes the observational evidence for the location of magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magnetopause, emphasizing the properties and efficacy of the Maximum Magnetic Shear Model.

MHD and Ion Kinetic Waves in Field-aligned Flows Observed by Parker Solar Probe

2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (2) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
L.-L. Zhao ◽  
G. P. Zank ◽  
J. S. He ◽  
D. Telloni ◽  
L. Adhikari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Whistler Wave ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Fast Mode ◽  
Magnetic Fluctuations ◽  
Background Magnetic Field ◽  
Ion Cyclotron

Abstract Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observed predominately Alfvénic fluctuations in the solar wind near the Sun where the magnetic field tends to be radially aligned. In this paper, two magnetic-field-aligned solar wind flow intervals during PSP’s first two orbits are analyzed. Observations of these intervals indicate strong signatures of parallel/antiparallel-propagating waves. We utilize multiple analysis techniques to extract the properties of the observed waves in both magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and kinetic scales. At the MHD scale, outward-propagating Alfvén waves dominate both intervals, and outward-propagating fast magnetosonic waves present the second-largest contribution in the spectral energy density. At kinetic scales, we identify the circularly polarized plasma waves propagating near the proton gyrofrequency in both intervals. However, the sense of magnetic polarization in the spacecraft frame is observed to be opposite in the two intervals, although they both possess a sunward background magnetic field. The ion-scale plasma wave observed in the first interval can be either an inward-propagating ion cyclotron wave (ICW) or an outward-propagating fast-mode/whistler wave in the plasma frame, while in the second interval it can be explained as an outward ICW or inward fast-mode/whistler wave. The identification of the exact kinetic wave mode is more difficult to confirm owing to the limited plasma data resolution. The presence of ion-scale waves near the Sun suggests that ion cyclotron resonance may be one of the ubiquitous kinetic physical processes associated with small-scale magnetic fluctuations and kinetic instabilities in the inner heliosphere.

The Sun

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna D. Haigh ◽  
Peter Cargill
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Solar Atmosphere ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Extreme Ultraviolet ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Terrestrial Magnetic Field

This chapter discusses how there are four general factors that contribute to the Sun's potential role in variations in the Earth's climate. First, the fusion processes in the solar core determine the solar luminosity and hence the base level of radiation impinging on the Earth. Second, the presence of the solar magnetic field leads to radiation at ultraviolet (UV), extreme ultraviolet (EUV), and X-ray wavelengths which can affect certain layers of the atmosphere. Third, the variability of the magnetic field over a 22-year cycle leads to significant changes in the radiative output at some wavelengths. Finally, the interplanetary manifestation of the outer solar atmosphere (the solar wind) interacts with the terrestrial magnetic field, leading to effects commonly called space weather.

scholarly journals The evolution of inverted magnetic fields through the inner heliosphere

2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (3) ◽  
pp. 3642-3655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan R Macneil ◽  
Mathew J Owens ◽  
Robert T Wicks ◽  
Mike Lockwood ◽  
Sarah N Bentley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Radial Distance ◽  
Occurrence Rate ◽  
Slow Solar Wind ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Radial Evolution ◽  
In Transit ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Inner Heliosphere

ABSTRACT Local inversions are often observed in the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), but their origins and evolution are not yet fully understood. Parker Solar Probe has recently observed rapid, Alfvénic, HMF inversions in the inner heliosphere, known as ‘switchbacks’, which have been interpreted as the possible remnants of coronal jets. It has also been suggested that inverted HMF may be produced by near-Sun interchange reconnection; a key process in mechanisms proposed for slow solar wind release. These cases suggest that the source of inverted HMF is near the Sun, and it follows that these inversions would gradually decay and straighten as they propagate out through the heliosphere. Alternatively, HMF inversions could form during solar wind transit, through phenomena such velocity shears, draping over ejecta, or waves and turbulence. Such processes are expected to lead to a qualitatively radial evolution of inverted HMF structures. Using Helios measurements spanning 0.3–1 au, we examine the occurrence rate of inverted HMF, as well as other magnetic field morphologies, as a function of radial distance r, and find that it continually increases. This trend may be explained by inverted HMF observed between 0.3 and 1 au being primarily driven by one or more of the above in-transit processes, rather than created at the Sun. We make suggestions as to the relative importance of these different processes based on the evolution of the magnetic field properties associated with inverted HMF. We also explore alternative explanations outside of our suggested driving processes which may lead to the observed trend.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document