Evolution of thin current sheet with a southward interplanetary magnetic field studied by a three-dimensional electromagnetic particle code

2000 ◽  
Vol 105 (A6) ◽  
pp. 13017-13028 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.-I. Nishikawa ◽  
S. Ohtani
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Interplanetary Magnetic Field ◽  
Current Sheet ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Thin Current Sheet

Three-dimensional Multispecies Simulation of the Solar Wind Interaction with Mars Under Different Interplanetary Magnetic Field Orientations

2021 ◽  
Vol 921 (2) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Yun Li ◽  
Haoyu Lu ◽  
Jinbin Cao ◽  
Shibang Li ◽  
Christian Mazelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Interplanetary Magnetic Field ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Polarity Reversal ◽  
Solar Wind Interaction ◽  
Magnetic Structures ◽  
Parker Spiral ◽  
Global Configuration ◽  
Spiral Angle

Abstract Without the intrinsic magnetic field, the solar wind interaction with Mars can be significantly different from the interaction with Earth and other magnetized planets. In this paper, we investigate how a global configuration of the magnetic structures, consisting of the bow shock, the induced magnetosphere, and the magnetotail, is modulated by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation. A 3D multispecies numerical model is established to simulate the interaction of solar wind with Mars under different IMF directions. The results show that the shock size including the subsolar distance and the terminator radius increases with Parker spiral angle, as is the same case with the magnetotail radius. The location and shape of the polarity reversal layer and inverse polarity reversal layer in the induced magnetotail are displaced to the y < 0 sector for a nonzero flow-aligned IMF component, consistent with previous analytical solutions and observations. The responses of the Martian global magnetic configuration to the different IMF directions suggest that the external magnetic field plays an important role in the solar wind interaction with unmagnetized planets.

scholarly journals Instabilities in a thin current sheet and their consequences

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Current Sheet ◽  
Drift Velocity ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Field Configuration ◽  
Central Plane ◽  
Current Disruption ◽  
Electrons And Ions ◽  
Thin Current Sheet ◽  
Electrostatic Fluctuations

Abstract. Using a fully 3-D particle in-cell simulation, we studied the electrodynamics of a thin current sheet (CS). Starting with a uniform plasma and anti-parallel magnetic field, Harris equilibrium is achieved during the early stage of the simulation. In the processes of reaching the equilibrium, both electrons and ions in the newly formed CS are energized and develop pitch-angle anisotropies. We find two distinct stages of primarily electrostatic instabilities; in the first stage the relative drift between electrons and ions drives the instability in the central regions of the CS. The electrostatic fluctuations scatter electrons causing current disruption in the central region. The associated reduction in the average drift velocity of the current-carrying electrons generates sheared flow. The second stage of the instability begins when the drift velocity develops a minimum in the central plane. Then the shear and the growing electrostatic fluctuations under the condition of the maintained anti-parallel driving magnetic field configuration feed each other making the instability explosive. The growing fluctuations create plasma clumps as the electrons and ions are progressively trapped in the large-amplitude waves. The density clumping also generates clumps in the current. The non-uniform current distribution causes magnetic reconnection, accompanied by heating of electrons and ion at a fast rate and nearly complete bifurcation of the current sheet. Anomalous resistivity during different stages of the evolution of the CS is calculated and compared against theory.

scholarly journals Nonlinear equilibrium structure of thin currents sheets: influence of electron pressure anisotropy

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 579-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. Zelenyi ◽  
H. V. Malova ◽  
V. Yu. Popov ◽  
D. Delcourt ◽  
A. S. Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Current Sheet ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Plasma Pressure ◽  
Quasi Equilibrium ◽  
Electrostatic Effects ◽  
Current Sheets ◽  
Thin Current Sheet ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Abstract. Thin current sheets represent important and puzzling sites of magnetic energy storage and subsequent fast release. Such structures are observed in planetary magnetospheres, solar atmosphere and are expected to be widespread in nature. The thin current sheet structure resembles a collapsing MHD solution with a plane singularity. Being potential sites of effective energy accumulation, these structures have received a good deal of attention during the last decade, especially after the launch of the multiprobe CLUSTER mission which is capable of resolving their 3D features. Many theoretical models of thin current sheet dynamics, including the well-known current sheet bifurcation, have been developed recently. A self-consistent 1D analytical model of thin current sheets in which the tension of the magnetic field lines is balanced by the ion inertia rather than by the plasma pressure gradients was developed earlier. The influence of the anisotropic electron population and of the corresponding electrostatic field that acts to restore quasi-neutrality of the plasma is taken into account. It is assumed that the electron motion is fluid-like in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and fast enough to support quasi-equilibrium Boltzmann distribution along the field lines. Electrostatic effects lead to an interesting feature of the current density profile inside the current sheet, i.e. a narrow sharp peak of electron current in the very center of the sheet due to fast curvature drift of the particles in this region. The corresponding magnetic field profile becomes much steeper near the neutral plane although the total cross-tail current is in all cases dominated by the ion contribution. The dependence of electrostatic effects on the ion to electron temperature ratio, the curvature of the magnetic field lines, and the average electron magnetic moment is also analyzed. The implications of these effects on the fine structure of thin current sheets and their potential impact on substorm dynamics are presented.

Resistive MHD stagnation-point flows at a current sheet

1975 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. U. Ö. Sonnerup ◽  
E. R. Priest
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Current Sheet ◽  
Stagnation Point ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Mhd Equations ◽  
Viscous Effects ◽  
Three Dimensional Flow ◽  
Merging Process ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
A Current

A family of exact solutions to the MHD equations is presented for steady incompressible two- and three-dimensional flow in the vicinity of the stagnation point, which forms in a current sheet separating two colliding plasma streams. The magnetic field in each plasma is strictly parallel to the current sheet, but can have different magnitudes and directions. Resistive and viscous effects are accounted for. These flows are of considerable interest in connexion with the magnetic field merging process. They represent the limit of resistive field annihilation with zero reconnexion.

scholarly journals Effects on magnetic reconnection of a density asymmetry across the current sheet

2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 2471-2483 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. G. Tanaka ◽  
A. Retinò ◽  
Y. Asano ◽  
M. Fujimoto ◽  
I. Shinohara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Current Sheet ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Region ◽  
Electron Acceleration ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Line Structure ◽  
Simulation Results

Abstract. The magnetopause (MP) reconnection is characterized by a density asymmetry across the current sheet. The asymmetry is expected to produce characteristic features in the reconnection layer. Here we present a comparison between the Cluster MP crossing reported by Retinò et al. (2006) and virtual observations in two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation results. The simulation, which includes the density asymmetry but has zero guide field in the initial condition, has reproduced well the observed features as follows: (1) The prominent density dip region is detected at the separatrix region (SR) on the magnetospheric (MSP) side of the MP. (2) The intense electric field normal to the MP is pointing to the center of the MP at the location where the density dip is detected. (3) The ion bulk outflow due to the magnetic reconnection is seen to be biased towards the MSP side. (4) The out-of-plane magnetic field (the Hall magnetic field) has bipolar rather than quadrupolar structure, the latter of which is seen for a density symmetric case. The simulation also showed rich electron dynamics (formation of field-aligned beams) in the proximity of the separatrices, which was not fully resolved in the observations. Stepping beyond the simulation-observation comparison, we have also analyzed the electron acceleration and the field line structure in the simulation results. It is found that the bipolar Hall magnetic field structure is produced by the substantial drift of the reconnected field lines at the MSP SR due to the enhanced normal electric field. The field-aligned electrons at the same MSP SR are identified as the gun smokes of the electron acceleration in the close proximity of the X-line. We have also analyzed the X-line structure obtained in the simulation to find that the density asymmetry leads to a steep density gradient in the in-flow region, which may lead to a non-stationary behavior of the X-line when three-dimensional freedom is taken into account.

Variability of the interplanetary magnetic field as a driver of electromagnetic induction in Mercury’s interior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Zomerdijk-Russell ◽  
Adam Masters
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Interplanetary Magnetic Field ◽  
Current Sheet ◽  
Electromagnetic Induction ◽  
Dynamic Pressure ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Appreciable Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Imf

&lt;p&gt;Mercury&amp;#8217;s magnetosphere is considered to be a unique and dynamic system, primarily due to the proximity of the planet to the Sun. The interaction between solar wind and embedded Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and the dayside Hermean magnetosphere drive an electric current on the magnetopause boundary of the system. The influence of the time-dependent magnetic field generated by this magnetopause current on Mercury&amp;#8217;s interior is key to understanding the subsurface structure of the planet, as electromagnetic induction is a valuable technique for delineating electrical properties of planetary interiors. Here we assess the impact a changing IMF direction has on the Hermean magnetopause currents, and the resulting inducing magnetic field. Analytical models of conditions at the magnetopause are combined with measurements made by MESSENGER&amp;#8217;s magnetometer as the spacecraft crossed the subsolar magnetopause boundary during the first &amp;#8216;hot season&amp;#8217;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These MESSENGER magnetopause boundary crossings show that the introduction of the external IMF changes the direction of the magnetopause current by ~50&amp;#176;, compared to the case where only the internal planetary field is considered. Analytical modelling suggests that for a heliospheric current sheet crossing without any change in solar wind dynamic pressure (an east-west reversal of the IMF polarity typical at Mercury), the inducing field at Mercury&amp;#8217;s surface caused by the resulting magnetopause current sheet dynamics is of the order of 10% of the global planetary field. The results suggest that variability of the IMF alone can have an appreciable effect on Mercury&amp;#8217;s magnetopause current direction and generate a significant inducing magnetic field around the planet. The arrival of the BepiColombo mission will allow this response to be further explored as a method of probing Mercury&amp;#8217;s interior.&lt;/p&gt;

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