The Morphology of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping on the Dayside of Mars and Its Variability
Abstract The magnetic field draping pattern in the magnetosheath of Mars is of interest for what it tells us about both the solar wind interaction with the Mars obstacle and the use of the field measured there as a proxy for the upstream interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle. We apply a ti...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2018-04-01
|
| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2018GL077230 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850260837918310400 |
|---|---|
| author | Xiaohua Fang Yingjuan Ma Janet Luhmann Yaxue Dong David Brain Dana Hurley Chuanfei Dong Christina O. Lee Bruce Jakosky |
| author_facet | Xiaohua Fang Yingjuan Ma Janet Luhmann Yaxue Dong David Brain Dana Hurley Chuanfei Dong Christina O. Lee Bruce Jakosky |
| author_sort | Xiaohua Fang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The magnetic field draping pattern in the magnetosheath of Mars is of interest for what it tells us about both the solar wind interaction with the Mars obstacle and the use of the field measured there as a proxy for the upstream interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle. We apply a time‐dependent, global magnetohydrodynamic model toward quantifying the spatial and temporal variations of the magnetic field draping direction on the Martian dayside above 500‐km altitude. The magnetic field and plasma are self‐consistently solved over one Mars rotation period, with the dynamics of the field morphology considered as the result of the rotation of the crustal field orientation. Our results show how the magnetic field direction on the plane perpendicular to the solar wind flow direction gradually departs from the IMF as the solar wind penetrates toward the obstacle and into the tail region. This clock angle departure occurs mainly inside the magnetic pileup region and tailward of the terminator plane, exhibiting significant dawn‐dusk and north‐south asymmetries. Inside the dayside sheath region, the field direction has the greatest departure from the IMF‐perpendicular component direction downstream of the quasi‐parallel bow shock, which for the nominal Parker spiral is over the dawn quadrant. Thus, the best region to obtain an IMF clock angle proxy is within the dayside magnetosheath at sufficiently high altitudes, particularly over subsolar and dusk sectors. Our results illustrate that the crustal field has only a mild influence on the magnetic field draping direction within the magnetosheath region. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-180ff2dee0944e888cb09f19fb4fbadc |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2018-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-180ff2dee0944e888cb09f19fb4fbadc2025-08-20T01:55:33ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072018-04-014583356336510.1002/2018GL077230The Morphology of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping on the Dayside of Mars and Its VariabilityXiaohua Fang0Yingjuan Ma1Janet Luhmann2Yaxue Dong3David Brain4Dana Hurley5Chuanfei Dong6Christina O. Lee7Bruce Jakosky8Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USADepartment of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences University of California Los Angeles CA USASpace Sciences Laboratory University of California Berkeley CA USALaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USALaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USAApplied Physics Laboratory The Johns Hopkins University Laurel MD USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton University Princeton NJ USASpace Sciences Laboratory University of California Berkeley CA USALaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USAAbstract The magnetic field draping pattern in the magnetosheath of Mars is of interest for what it tells us about both the solar wind interaction with the Mars obstacle and the use of the field measured there as a proxy for the upstream interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle. We apply a time‐dependent, global magnetohydrodynamic model toward quantifying the spatial and temporal variations of the magnetic field draping direction on the Martian dayside above 500‐km altitude. The magnetic field and plasma are self‐consistently solved over one Mars rotation period, with the dynamics of the field morphology considered as the result of the rotation of the crustal field orientation. Our results show how the magnetic field direction on the plane perpendicular to the solar wind flow direction gradually departs from the IMF as the solar wind penetrates toward the obstacle and into the tail region. This clock angle departure occurs mainly inside the magnetic pileup region and tailward of the terminator plane, exhibiting significant dawn‐dusk and north‐south asymmetries. Inside the dayside sheath region, the field direction has the greatest departure from the IMF‐perpendicular component direction downstream of the quasi‐parallel bow shock, which for the nominal Parker spiral is over the dawn quadrant. Thus, the best region to obtain an IMF clock angle proxy is within the dayside magnetosheath at sufficiently high altitudes, particularly over subsolar and dusk sectors. Our results illustrate that the crustal field has only a mild influence on the magnetic field draping direction within the magnetosheath region.https://doi.org/10.1002/2018GL077230Marssolar windmagnetic fieldbow shockmagnetosheathcrustal magnetic fields |
| spellingShingle | Xiaohua Fang Yingjuan Ma Janet Luhmann Yaxue Dong David Brain Dana Hurley Chuanfei Dong Christina O. Lee Bruce Jakosky The Morphology of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping on the Dayside of Mars and Its Variability Geophysical Research Letters Mars solar wind magnetic field bow shock magnetosheath crustal magnetic fields |
| title | The Morphology of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping on the Dayside of Mars and Its Variability |
| title_full | The Morphology of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping on the Dayside of Mars and Its Variability |
| title_fullStr | The Morphology of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping on the Dayside of Mars and Its Variability |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Morphology of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping on the Dayside of Mars and Its Variability |
| title_short | The Morphology of the Solar Wind Magnetic Field Draping on the Dayside of Mars and Its Variability |
| title_sort | morphology of the solar wind magnetic field draping on the dayside of mars and its variability |
| topic | Mars solar wind magnetic field bow shock magnetosheath crustal magnetic fields |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/2018GL077230 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xiaohuafang themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT yingjuanma themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT janetluhmann themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT yaxuedong themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT davidbrain themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT danahurley themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT chuanfeidong themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT christinaolee themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT brucejakosky themorphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT xiaohuafang morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT yingjuanma morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT janetluhmann morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT yaxuedong morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT davidbrain morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT danahurley morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT chuanfeidong morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT christinaolee morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability AT brucejakosky morphologyofthesolarwindmagneticfielddrapingonthedaysideofmarsanditsvariability |