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Solar Wind Ion Entry Into the Magnetosphere During Northward IMF.

K A Sorathia1, V G Merkin1, A Y Ukhorskiy1

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Solar wind plasma enters Earth's magnetosphere through two main paths during northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. These entry mechanisms create a cold, dense plasma sheet with a distinct dawn-dusk asymmetry.

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Area of Science:

  • Space Physics
  • Magnetospheric Physics
  • Plasma Physics

Background:

  • Extended periods of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) lead to solar wind plasma entry into the magnetosphere, forming a cold, dense plasma sheet.
  • The precise pathways and relative importance of solar wind entry into the magnetosphere remain poorly understood.
  • Theoretical models must account for observational constraints like entry rates and the observed dawn-dusk asymmetry in the plasma sheet.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To model and compare solar wind ion entry into the magnetosphere during northward IMF.
  • Investigate entry mechanisms via Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and cusp reconnection.
  • Determine how these mechanisms contribute to the plasma sheet's properties and observed asymmetries.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a combination of global magnetohydrodynamic and test particle simulations.
  • Modeled solar wind ion entry into the magnetosphere under northward IMF conditions.
  • Compared plasma entry facilitated by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability with entry via cusp reconnection.

Main Results:

  • Kelvin-Helmholtz instability facilitates plasma entry, with intravortex reconnection creating buoyant flux tubes that fill the plasma sheet.
  • Cusp reconnection generates an intrinsic dawn-dusk asymmetry due to the alignment of westward ion drift and dawnward electric fields.
  • Both mechanisms contribute comparable mass but differentially affect plasma: flank entry is cold and symmetric, while cusp entry is accelerated and dawn-deflected.

Conclusions:

  • Both Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and cusp reconnection are significant pathways for solar wind entry during northward IMF.
  • These mechanisms combine to produce the observed two-component (hot and cold) plasma sheet with a dawn-dusk asymmetry.
  • The study clarifies the processes responsible for the cold, dense plasma sheet formation and its characteristic asymmetry.