A Study of Slow-mode Shocks in the Near-Earth Magnetotail with MMS Observations and Hybrid Simulations

The structure of the magnetic reconnection boundary, particularly the presence of slow-mode shocks in the near-Earth magnetotail was studied by using magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) observations and 2.5D hybrid simulations. A total of 51 crossings of MMS from 2017 to 2021 were analyzed. We found tha...

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Main Authors: Nehpreet K. Walia, Kanako Seki, Takanobu Amano, Naritoshi Kitamura, Yoshifumi Saito, Tara Ahmadi, Daniel J. Gershman, Craig J. Pollock, Barbara L. Giles, Stephen A. Fuselier, Christopher T. Russell, James L. Burch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2024-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8b23
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author Nehpreet K. Walia
Kanako Seki
Takanobu Amano
Naritoshi Kitamura
Yoshifumi Saito
Tara Ahmadi
Daniel J. Gershman
Craig J. Pollock
Barbara L. Giles
Stephen A. Fuselier
Christopher T. Russell
James L. Burch
author_facet Nehpreet K. Walia
Kanako Seki
Takanobu Amano
Naritoshi Kitamura
Yoshifumi Saito
Tara Ahmadi
Daniel J. Gershman
Craig J. Pollock
Barbara L. Giles
Stephen A. Fuselier
Christopher T. Russell
James L. Burch
author_sort Nehpreet K. Walia
collection DOAJ
description The structure of the magnetic reconnection boundary, particularly the presence of slow-mode shocks in the near-Earth magnetotail was studied by using magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) observations and 2.5D hybrid simulations. A total of 51 crossings of MMS from 2017 to 2021 were analyzed. We found that the detection percentage of slow-mode shocks in the near-Earth magnetotail is 41%–55%. Previous studies have only reported one slow-mode shock event in the near-Earth magnetotail and a slow-mode shock detection percentage of 10% or lower in the mid-to-distant magnetotail. It was observed that if the high-energy beam region data is removed from the slow-mode shock downstream observations then the detection of slow-mode shocks reduces, implying that the kinetic effects play an important role in the detection of slow-mode shocks. For the crossings where the interface was not identified as a slow-mode shock, it was found that the turbulence in those crossings can change the mass flux values and disrupt the detection of slow-mode shock. However, the macroscopic slow-mode shock-like structure stably exists around the magnetic reconnection interface, as most of the conditions for slow-mode shocks were satisfied. This result suggests that slow-mode shocks are a general feature of magnetic reconnection geometry. We find that the lack of detection of slow-mode shocks in previous observations and simulations can be explained by taking into account the kinetic structure of slow-mode shocks and the presence of turbulence.
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spelling doaj-art-6764d1ec8a9645fdb49f536a08efd9862025-08-20T02:21:43ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01977111710.3847/1538-4357/ad8b23A Study of Slow-mode Shocks in the Near-Earth Magnetotail with MMS Observations and Hybrid SimulationsNehpreet K. Walia0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7296-5288Kanako Seki1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5557-9062Takanobu Amano2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2140-6961Naritoshi Kitamura3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2397-273XYoshifumi Saito4Tara Ahmadi5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3566-6980Daniel J. Gershman6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1304-4769Craig J. Pollock7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9228-6605Barbara L. Giles8Stephen A. Fuselier9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4101-7901Christopher T. Russell10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1639-8298James L. Burch11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0452-8403ISR-1: Space Science and Applications, Los Alamos National Laboratory , NM, USA ; nwalia@lanl.govDepartment of Earth & Planetary Science, University of Tokyo , Tokyo, JapanDepartment of Earth & Planetary Science, University of Tokyo , Tokyo, JapanInstitute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University , Aichi, JapanInstitute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) , Kanagawa, JapanGraduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo , Tokyo, JapanNASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD, USA; Denali Scientific, Fairbanks, AK, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD, USASouthwest Research Institute , San Antonio, TX, USA; The University of Texas at San Antonio , San Antonio, TX, USADepartment of Earth Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California , Los Angeles, CA, USASouthwest Research Institute , San Antonio, TX, USAThe structure of the magnetic reconnection boundary, particularly the presence of slow-mode shocks in the near-Earth magnetotail was studied by using magnetospheric multiscale (MMS) observations and 2.5D hybrid simulations. A total of 51 crossings of MMS from 2017 to 2021 were analyzed. We found that the detection percentage of slow-mode shocks in the near-Earth magnetotail is 41%–55%. Previous studies have only reported one slow-mode shock event in the near-Earth magnetotail and a slow-mode shock detection percentage of 10% or lower in the mid-to-distant magnetotail. It was observed that if the high-energy beam region data is removed from the slow-mode shock downstream observations then the detection of slow-mode shocks reduces, implying that the kinetic effects play an important role in the detection of slow-mode shocks. For the crossings where the interface was not identified as a slow-mode shock, it was found that the turbulence in those crossings can change the mass flux values and disrupt the detection of slow-mode shock. However, the macroscopic slow-mode shock-like structure stably exists around the magnetic reconnection interface, as most of the conditions for slow-mode shocks were satisfied. This result suggests that slow-mode shocks are a general feature of magnetic reconnection geometry. We find that the lack of detection of slow-mode shocks in previous observations and simulations can be explained by taking into account the kinetic structure of slow-mode shocks and the presence of turbulence.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8b23ShocksPlanetary magnetospheresSpace plasmas
spellingShingle Nehpreet K. Walia
Kanako Seki
Takanobu Amano
Naritoshi Kitamura
Yoshifumi Saito
Tara Ahmadi
Daniel J. Gershman
Craig J. Pollock
Barbara L. Giles
Stephen A. Fuselier
Christopher T. Russell
James L. Burch
A Study of Slow-mode Shocks in the Near-Earth Magnetotail with MMS Observations and Hybrid Simulations
The Astrophysical Journal
Shocks
Planetary magnetospheres
Space plasmas
title A Study of Slow-mode Shocks in the Near-Earth Magnetotail with MMS Observations and Hybrid Simulations
title_full A Study of Slow-mode Shocks in the Near-Earth Magnetotail with MMS Observations and Hybrid Simulations
title_fullStr A Study of Slow-mode Shocks in the Near-Earth Magnetotail with MMS Observations and Hybrid Simulations
title_full_unstemmed A Study of Slow-mode Shocks in the Near-Earth Magnetotail with MMS Observations and Hybrid Simulations
title_short A Study of Slow-mode Shocks in the Near-Earth Magnetotail with MMS Observations and Hybrid Simulations
title_sort study of slow mode shocks in the near earth magnetotail with mms observations and hybrid simulations
topic Shocks
Planetary magnetospheres
Space plasmas
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8b23
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