The substructure of a flux transfer event observed by the MMS spacecraft

Hwang, Kyoung‐Joo; Sibeck, D. G.; Giles, B. L.; Pollock, C. J.; Gershman, D. J.; Avanov, L. A.; Paterson, W. R.; Dorelli, J.; Ergun, R. E.; Russell, C. T.; Strangeway, R. J.; Mauk, B. H.; Cohen, I. J.; Torbert, R. B.; Burch, J. L.

doi:10.1002/2016gl070934

Cited by 36 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Furthermore, the above mentioned reconstruction methods produce structures that appear consistent with the multiple X line mechanism (Hasegawa et al, ; Sonnerup et al, ). However, other studies report features more consistent with the single X line mechanism, for example, the observed evolution of the ion distribution (Hwang et al, ; Lockwood & Hapgood, ), FTE velocities (Fear et al, ; Lockwood & Hapgood, ), and the presence of jets on the trailing edge of FTEs as a spatial feature (Trenchi et al, ). These two sets of observations need not be seen as contradictory—Trenchi et al () argued that it may be that both single and multiple X line mechanisms give rise to the observed in situ signatures, perhaps observed even on the same magnetopause crossings.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 86%

How Much Flux Does a Flux Transfer Event Transfer?

et al. 2017

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Flux transfer events are bursts of reconnection at the dayside magnetopause, which give rise to characteristic signatures observed by a range of magnetospheric/ionospheric instrumentation. One outstanding problem is that there is a fundamental mismatch between space‐based and ionospheric estimates of the flux that is opened by each flux transfer event—in other words, their overall significance in the Dungey cycle. Spacecraft‐based estimates of the flux content of individual flux transfer events (FTEs) correspond to each event transferring flux equivalent to approximately 1% of the open flux in the magnetosphere, whereas studies based on global‐scale radar and auroral observations suggest this figure could be of the order of 10%. In the former case, flux transfer events would be a minor detail in the Dungey cycle, but in the latter they could be its main driver. We present observations of two conjunctions between flux transfer events observed by the Cluster spacecraft and pulsed ionospheric flows observed by the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) network. In both cases, a similar number of FTE signatures were observed by Cluster and one of the SuperDARN radars, but the conjunctions differ in the azimuthal separation of the spacecraft and ionospheric observations (i.e., the distance of the spacecraft from the cusp throat). We argue that the reason for the existing mismatch in flux estimates is due to implicit assumptions made about FTE structure, which tacitly ignore the majority of flux opened in mechanisms based on longer reconnection lines. If the effects of such mechanisms are considered, a much better match is found.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 86%

How Much Flux Does a Flux Transfer Event Transfer?

et al. 2017

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“…FRs have been frequently observed in the Earth's magnetosphere (e.g., Chen et al, ; Huang, Retino, et al, ; Huang, Sahraoui, et al, ; Huang, Vaivads, et al, ; Retinò et al, ; Slavin et al, ; Wang et al, ; Zhao, Wang, Lu, et al, ; Zong et al, ). FRs can have multiscale structures or multiple layers (e.g., Huang, Retino¸ et al, ; Hwang et al, ), and may show different features in the electron velocity distributions (e.g., Zhong et al, ) and different wave properties in different subregions (e.g., Huang, Retino, et al, ; Khotyaintsev et al, ; Wang, Lu, Nakamura, Huang, Du, et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observations of Flux Ropes With Strong Energy Dissipation in the Magnetotail

Huang

Jiang

Yuan

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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An ion‐scale flux rope (FR), embedded in a high‐speed electron flow (possibly an electron vortex), is investigated in the magnetotail using observations from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft. Intense electric field and current and abundant waves are observed in the exterior and interior regions of the FR. Comparable parallel and perpendicular currents in the interior region imply that the FR has a non‐force‐free configuration. Electron demagnetization occurs in some subregions of the FR. It is surprising that strong dissipation (J × E' up to 2,000 pW/m3) occurs in the center of the FR without signatures of secondary reconnection or coalescence of two FRs, implying that FR may provide another important channel for energy dissipation in space plasmas. These features indicate that the observed FR is still highly dynamical, and hosts multiscale coupling processes, even though the FR has a very large scale and is far away from the reconnection site.

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“…A mixture of magnetosheath and magnetospheric ion and electron populations is often detected within FTEs (Le et al, ). FTEs have been studied using simulations (Daum et al, ; Fedder et al, ; Raeder, ), laboratory experiments (e.g., Egedal et al, ; Fox et al, ; Stenzel & Gekelman, ; Yamada, ), ground measurements (Lockwood, Fazakerley, et al, ; Lockwood, Opgenoorth, et al, ; Wild et al, ), and multispacecraft missions as Cluster (e.g., Fear et al, ; Hasegawa et al, ; Roux et al, ; Sönnerup et al, ), Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (Fear et al, ; Silveira et al, ), and now MMS (Farrugia et al, ; Hwang et al, ). FTE models can essentially be classified into three types of models: elbow‐shaped flux rope model (Russell & Elphic, ), multiple X‐line model (Lee & Fu, ), and single X‐line model (Fear et al, ; Scholer, ; Southwood et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Magnetic Reconnection at a Thin Current Sheet Separating Two Interlaced Flux Tubes at the Earth's Magnetopause

et al. 2018

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The occurrence of spatially and temporally variable reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause leads to the complex interaction of magnetic fields from the magnetosphere and magnetosheath. Flux transfer events (FTEs) constitute one such type of interaction. Their main characteristics are (1) an enhanced core magnetic field magnitude and (2) a bipolar magnetic field signature in the component normal to the magnetopause, reminiscent of a large‐scale helicoidal flux tube magnetic configuration. However, other geometrical configurations which do not fit this classical picture have also been observed. Using high‐resolution measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, we investigate an event in the vicinity of the Earth's magnetopause on 7 November 2015. Despite signatures that, at first glance, appear consistent with a classic FTE, based on detailed geometrical and dynamical analyses as well as on topological signatures revealed by suprathermal electron properties, we demonstrate that this event is not consistent with a single, homogenous helicoidal structure. Our analysis rather suggests that it consists of the interaction of two separate sets of magnetic field lines with different connectivities. This complex three‐dimensional interaction constructively conspires to produce signatures partially consistent with that of an FTE. We also show that, at the interface between the two sets of field lines, where the observed magnetic pileup occurs, a thin and strong current sheet forms with a large ion jet, which may be consistent with magnetic flux dissipation through magnetic reconnection in the interaction region.

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The substructure of a flux transfer event observed by the MMS spacecraft

Cited by 36 publications

References 42 publications

How Much Flux Does a Flux Transfer Event Transfer?

How Much Flux Does a Flux Transfer Event Transfer?

Observations of Flux Ropes With Strong Energy Dissipation in the Magnetotail

Magnetic Reconnection at a Thin Current Sheet Separating Two Interlaced Flux Tubes at the Earth's Magnetopause

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