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Continuous magnetic reconnection at Earth's magnetopause
H U Frey1, T D Phan, S A Fuselier
1Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-7450, USA. hfrey@ssl.berkeley.edu
Nature
|December 5, 2003
Summary
Magnetic reconnection, crucial for solar wind entry into Earth's magnetosphere, can be continuous, not always intermittent. Its steadiness depends on solar wind driving conditions at the magnetopause.
Area of Science:
- Space Physics
- Plasma Physics
- Geophysics
Background:
- Magnetic reconnection facilitates solar wind plasma entry into Earth's magnetosphere.
- The intermittent or continuous nature of magnetic reconnection is a long-standing question.
- Solar flares and substorms, linked to reconnection, exhibit burst-like behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause is intrinsically intermittent or can be continuous.
- To determine the driving factors influencing the temporal behavior of magnetopause reconnection.
Main Methods:
- Observational analysis of the dayside proton auroral spot in the ionosphere as a remote signature of magnetopause reconnection.
- Correlation of auroral spot presence with solar wind conditions.
Main Results:
- Continuous and quasi-steady magnetic reconnection was observed at Earth's high-latitude magnetopause over extended periods.
- The dayside proton auroral spot, a reconnection indicator, was continuously present for many hours.
- Reconnection was found to be directly driven by the solar wind.
Conclusions:
- Magnetic reconnection is not intrinsically intermittent.
- The steadiness of magnetic reconnection is dependent on the driving conditions, specifically the solar wind.
- Continuous reconnection can occur at the magnetopause when driven appropriately by the solar wind.
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