scholarly journals Solar wind and substorm excitation of the wavy current sheet

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 2457-2474 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Forsyth ◽  
M. Lester ◽  
R. C. Fear ◽  
E. Lucek ◽  
I. Dandouras ◽  
...  

Abstract. Following a solar wind pressure pulse on 3 August 2001, GOES 8, GOES 10, Cluster and Polar observed dipolarizations of the magnetic field, accompanied by an eastward expansion of the aurora observed by IMAGE, indicating the occurrence of two substorms. Prior to the first substorm, the motion of the plasma sheet with respect to Cluster was in the ZGSM direction. Observations following the substorms show the occurrence of current sheet waves moving predominantly in the −YGSM direction. Following the second substorm, the current sheet waves caused multiple current sheet crossings of the Cluster spacecraft, previously studied by Zhang et al. (2002). We further this study to show that the velocity of the current sheet waves was similar to the expansion velocity of the substorm aurora and the expansion of the dipolarization regions in the magnetotail. Furthermore, we compare these results with the current sheet wave models of Golovchanskaya and Maltsev (2005) and Erkaev et al. (2008). We find that the Erkaev et al. (2008) model gives the best fit to the observations.

Author(s):  
César L Bertucci

The structure and variability of Saturn's magnetic field in the vicinity of Titan's orbit is studied. In the dawn magnetosphere, the magnetic field presents a significant radial component directed towards Saturn, suggesting that Titan is usually located below the planet's warped and dynamic magnetodisc. Also, a non-negligible component along the co-rotation direction suggests that Saturn's magnetic field lines close to the magnetodisc are being swept back from their respective magnetic meridians. In the noon sector, Titan seems to be closer to the magnetodisc central current sheet, as the field lines in this region seem to be more dipolar. The distance between the central current sheet and Titan depends mainly on the solar wind pressure. Also, δ | B |/| B |∼0.5 amplitude waveforms at periods close to Saturn's kilometric radiation period are present in the background magnetic field. This modulation in the field is ubiquitous in Saturn's magnetosphere and associated with the presence of a rotating asymmetry in the planet's magnetic field.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 4533-4545 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. T. Edberg ◽  
U. Auster ◽  
S. Barabash ◽  
A. Bößwetter ◽  
D. A. Brain ◽  
...  

Abstract. We report on new simultaneous in-situ observations at Mars from Rosetta and Mars Express (MEX) on how the Martian plasma environment is affected by high pressure solar wind. A significant sharp increase in solar wind density, magnetic field strength and turbulence followed by a gradual increase in solar wind velocity is observed during ~24 h in the combined data set from both spacecraft after Rosetta's closest approach to Mars on 25 February 2007. The bow shock and magnetic pileup boundary are coincidently observed by MEX to become asymmetric in their shapes. The fortunate orbit of MEX at this time allows a study of the inbound boundary crossings on one side of the planet and the outbound crossings on almost the opposite side, both very close to the terminator plane. The solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) downstream of Mars are monitored through simultaneous measurements provided by Rosetta. Possible explanations for the asymmetries are discussed, such as crustal magnetic fields and IMF direction. In the same interval, during the high solar wind pressure pulse, MEX observations show an increased amount of escaping planetary ions from the polar region of Mars. We link the high pressure solar wind with the observed simultaneous ion outflow and discuss how the pressure pulse could also be associated with the observed boundary shape asymmetry.


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 609-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. J. Huttunen ◽  
J. Slavin ◽  
M. Collier ◽  
H. E. J. Koskinen ◽  
A. Szabo ◽  
...  

Abstract. Sudden impulses (SI) in the tail lobe magnetic field associated with solar wind pressure enhancements are investigated using measurements from Cluster. The magnetic field components during the SIs change in a manner consistent with the assumption that an antisunward moving lateral pressure enhancement compresses the magnetotail axisymmetrically. We found that the maximum variance SI unit vectors were nearly aligned with the associated interplanetary shock normals. For two of the tail lobe SI events during which Cluster was located close to the tail boundary, Cluster observed the inward moving magnetopause. During both events, the spacecraft location changed from the lobe to the magnetospheric boundary layer. During the event on 6 November 2001 the magnetopause was compressed past Cluster. We applied the 2-D Cartesian model developed by collier98 in which a vacuum uniform tail lobe magnetic field is compressed by a step-like pressure increase. The model underestimates the compression of the magnetic field, but it fits the magnetic field maximum variance component well. For events for which we could determine the shock normal orientation, the differences between the observed and calculated shock propagation times from the location of WIND/Geotail to the location of Cluster were small. The propagation speeds of the SIs between the Cluster spacecraft were comparable to the solar wind speed. Our results suggest that the observed tail lobe SIs are due to lateral increases in solar wind dynamic pressure outside the magnetotail boundary.


1971 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 173-188
Author(s):  
C. P. Sonett ◽  
P. Dyal ◽  
D. S. Colburn ◽  
B. F. Smith ◽  
G. Schubert ◽  
...  

AbstractIt is shown that the Moon possesses an extraordinary response to induction from the solar wind due to a combination of a high interior electrical conductivity together with a relatively resistive crustal layer into which the solar wind dynamic pressure forces back the induced field. The dark side response, devoid of solar wind pressure, is approximately that expected for the vacuum case. These data permit an assessment of the interior conductivity and an estimate of the thermal gradient in the crustal region. The discovery of a large permanent magnetic field at the Apollo 12 site corresponds approximately to the paleomagnetic residues discovered in both Apollo 11 and 12 rock samples The implications regarding an early lunar magnetic field are discussed and it is shown that among the various conjectures regarding the early field the most prominent are either an interior dynamo or an early approach to the Earth though no extant model is free of difficulties.


1983 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 473-477
Author(s):  
H. Biernat ◽  
N. Kömle ◽  
H. Rucker

In the vicinity of the Sun — especially above coronal holes — the magnetic field lines show strong non-radial divergence and considerable curvature (see e.g. Kopp and Holzer, 1976; Munro and Jackson, 1977; Ripken, 1977). In the following we study the influence of these characteristics on the expansion velocity of the solar wind.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-87
Author(s):  
E.V. Maiewski ◽  
R.A. Kislov ◽  
H.V. Malova ◽  
O.V. Khabarova ◽  
V.Yu. Popov ◽  
...  

A stationary axisymmetric MHD model of the solar wind has been constructed, which allows us to study the spatial distribution of the magnetic field and plasma characteristics at radial distances from 20 to 400 radii of the Sun at almost all heliolatitudes. The model takes into account the changes in the magnetic field of the Sun during a quarter of the solar cycle, when the dominant dipole magnetic field is replaced by a quadrupole. Selfconsistent solutions for the magnetic and velocity fields, plasma concentration and current density of the solar wind depending on the phase of the solar cycle are obtained. It is shown that during the domination of the dipole magnetic component in the solar wind heliospheric current sheet (HCS) is located in the equatorial plane, which is a part of the system of radial and transverse currents, symmetrical in the northern and southern hemispheres. As the relative contribution of the quadrupole component to the total magnetic field increases, the shape of the HCS becomes conical; the angle of the cone gradually decreases, so that the current sheet moves entirely to one of the hemispheres. At the same time, at high latitudes of the opposite hemisphere, a second conical HCS arises, the angle of which increases. When the quadrupole field becomes dominant (at maximum solar activity), both HCS lie on conical surfaces inclined at an angle of 35 degrees to the equator. The model describes the transition from the fast solar wind at high latitudes to the slow solar wind at low latitudes: a relatively gentle transition in the period of low solar activity gives way to more drastic when high solar activity. The model also predicts an increase in the steepness of the profiles of the main characteristics of the solar wind with an increase in the radial distance from the Sun. Comparison of the obtained dependences with the available observational data is discussed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document