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Generation mechanism for interlinked flux tubes on the magnetopause

Generation mechanism for interlinked flux tubes on the magnetopause
Generation mechanism for interlinked flux tubes on the magnetopause
We use a global magnetohydrodynamics simulation to analyze transient magnetic reconnection processes at the magnetopause. The solar wind conditions have been kept constant and an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) with large duskward BY and southward BZ components has been imposed. Five flux transfer events (FTEs) with clear bipolar magnetic field signatures have been observed. We observed a peculiar structure defined as interlinked flux tubes (IFTs) in the first and fourth FTE, which had very different generation mechanisms. The first FTE originates as an IFTs and remains with this configuration until its final moment. However, the fourth FTE develops as a classical flux rope but changes its 3D magnetic configuration to that of IFTs. This work studies the mechanism for generating IFTs. The growth of the resistive tearing instability has been identified as the cause for the first IFTs formation. We believe that the instability has been triggered by the accumulation of IMF at the subsolar point where the grid resolution is very high. The evidence shows that two new reconnection lines form northward and southward of the subsolar region. The IFTs has been generated with all the classical signatures of a single flux rope. The other IFTs detected in the fourth FTE developed as a result of magnetic reconnection inside its complex and twisted magnetic fields, which leads to a change in the magnetic configuration from a flux rope of twisted magnetic field lines to IFTs.
interlinked flux tubes, flux transfer events, magnetopause reconnection
2169-9402
Farinas Perez, German
f32f7d86-5fff-4f76-9fdf-e59c4a27617c
Cardoso, F
6ad40fc3-bbb2-409f-a839-0a33d6500ba5
Sibeck, David
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Gonzalez, W
ec9b2df3-ff77-4b50-b9fc-bdb885a0ec14
Facskó, G
ab22cb2e-e9f4-4ddf-807c-a2b11f31fe15
Coxon, John
566baea5-6a30-4855-bde3-a09c115efde4
Pembroke, A
92a5e8ee-8f13-4156-9a7d-31b091c584b4
Farinas Perez, German
f32f7d86-5fff-4f76-9fdf-e59c4a27617c
Cardoso, F
6ad40fc3-bbb2-409f-a839-0a33d6500ba5
Sibeck, David
fbd6be83-e8e9-485e-b580-66d41c92296d
Gonzalez, W
ec9b2df3-ff77-4b50-b9fc-bdb885a0ec14
Facskó, G
ab22cb2e-e9f4-4ddf-807c-a2b11f31fe15
Coxon, John
566baea5-6a30-4855-bde3-a09c115efde4
Pembroke, A
92a5e8ee-8f13-4156-9a7d-31b091c584b4

Farinas Perez, German, Cardoso, F, Sibeck, David, Gonzalez, W, Facskó, G, Coxon, John and Pembroke, A (2018) Generation mechanism for interlinked flux tubes on the magnetopause. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. (doi:10.1002/2017JA024664).

Record type: Article

Abstract

We use a global magnetohydrodynamics simulation to analyze transient magnetic reconnection processes at the magnetopause. The solar wind conditions have been kept constant and an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) with large duskward BY and southward BZ components has been imposed. Five flux transfer events (FTEs) with clear bipolar magnetic field signatures have been observed. We observed a peculiar structure defined as interlinked flux tubes (IFTs) in the first and fourth FTE, which had very different generation mechanisms. The first FTE originates as an IFTs and remains with this configuration until its final moment. However, the fourth FTE develops as a classical flux rope but changes its 3D magnetic configuration to that of IFTs. This work studies the mechanism for generating IFTs. The growth of the resistive tearing instability has been identified as the cause for the first IFTs formation. We believe that the instability has been triggered by the accumulation of IMF at the subsolar point where the grid resolution is very high. The evidence shows that two new reconnection lines form northward and southward of the subsolar region. The IFTs has been generated with all the classical signatures of a single flux rope. The other IFTs detected in the fourth FTE developed as a result of magnetic reconnection inside its complex and twisted magnetic fields, which leads to a change in the magnetic configuration from a flux rope of twisted magnetic field lines to IFTs.

Text
Perez_et_al-2018-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research-_Space_Physics - Accepted Manuscript
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Submitted date: 9 August 2017
Accepted/In Press date: 22 January 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 February 2018
Keywords: interlinked flux tubes, flux transfer events, magnetopause reconnection

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 417615
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/417615
ISSN: 2169-9402
PURE UUID: 372663ec-16f5-47e0-84a4-231a22695045
ORCID for John Coxon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0166-6854

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Date deposited: 07 Feb 2018 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 06:12

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Contributors

Author: German Farinas Perez
Author: F Cardoso
Author: David Sibeck
Author: W Gonzalez
Author: G Facskó
Author: John Coxon ORCID iD
Author: A Pembroke

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