Unsteady Magnetopause Reconnection Under Quasi‐Steady Solar Wind Driving
Abstract
The intrinsic temporal nature of magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause has been an active area of research. Both temporally steady and intermittent reconnection have been reported. We examine the steadiness of reconnection using space‐ground conjunctions under quasi‐steady solar wind driving. The spacecraft suggests that reconnection is first inactive, and then activates. The radar further suggests that after activation, reconnection proceeds continuously but unsteadily. The reconnection electric field shows variations at frequencies below 10 mHz with peaks at 3 and 5 mHz. The variation amplitudes are ∼10–30 mV/m in the ionosphere, and 0.3–0.8 mV/m at the equatorial magnetopause. Such amplitudes represent 30%–60% of the peak reconnection electric field. The unsteadiness of reconnection can be plausibly explained by the fluctuating magnetic field in the turbulent magnetosheath. A comparison with a previous global hybrid simulation suggests that it is the foreshock waves that drive the magnetosheath fluctuations, and hence modulate the reconnection.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1029/2021gl096583
Entities
People
- Brian M. Walsh
- Chih-Ping Wang
- J. M. Ruohoniemi
- Jiang Liu
- Jonathan Ng
- K. A. McWilliams
- Larry R Lyons
- Li-Jen Chen
- Vassilis Angelopoulos
- Xueling Shi
- Ying Zou
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Air Force Research Laboratory
- Boston University
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Center for Atmospheric Research
- National Science Foundation
- University of Alabama in Huntsville
- University of Maryland
- University of Saskatchewan
- Virginia Tech