Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission observations and non-force free modeling of a flux transfer event immersed in a super-Alfvenic flowShow others and affiliations
2016 (English)In: Geophysical Research Letters, ISSN 0094-8276, E-ISSN 1944-8007, Vol. 43, no 12, p. 6070-6077Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
We analyze plasma, magnetic field, and electric field data for a flux transfer event (FTE) to highlight improvements in our understanding of these transient reconnection signatures resulting from high-resolution data. The similar to 20 s long, reverse FTE, which occurred south of the geomagnetic equator near dusk, was immersed in super-Alfvenic flow. The field line twist is illustrated by the behavior of flows parallel/perpendicular to the magnetic field. Four-spacecraft timing and energetic particle pitch angle anisotropies indicate a flux rope (FR) connected to the Northern Hemisphere and moving southeast. The flow forces evidently overcame the magnetic tension. The high-speed flows inside the FR were different from those outside. The external flows were perpendicular to the field as expected for draping of the external field around the FR. Modeling the FR analytically, we adopt a non-force free approach since the current perpendicular to the field is nonzero. It reproduces many features of the observations.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2016. Vol. 43, no 12, p. 6070-6077
Keywords [en]
detailed plasma behavior in and around FTE; draping signatures around an FTE; nonforce-free modeling of the FTE flux rope
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology Geophysics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-200108DOI: 10.1002/2016GL068758ISI: 000380910100020Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84978130202OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-200108DiVA, id: diva2:1067324
Note
QC 20170123
Affiliation för Lindqvist och Marklund är fel i den publicerade artikeln.
2016-11-232017-01-202024-03-18Bibliographically approved