Determining the Axial Orientations of a Large Number of Flux Transfer Events Sequentially Observed by Cluster during a High-Latitude Magnetopause Crossing
Flux transfer events (FTEs) are magnetic structures generally believed to originate from time-varying magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magnetopause. Despite years of research, the mechanism of how FTEs are formed through reconnection remains controversial. In various models, FTEs exhibit differe...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Atmosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/10/1215 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850204895679873024 |
|---|---|
| author | Zhaoyu Li Tao Chen Lei Li |
| author_facet | Zhaoyu Li Tao Chen Lei Li |
| author_sort | Zhaoyu Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Flux transfer events (FTEs) are magnetic structures generally believed to originate from time-varying magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magnetopause. Despite years of research, the mechanism of how FTEs are formed through reconnection remains controversial. In various models, FTEs exhibit different global configurations. Studying the FTE axial orientation can provide insights into their global shape, thereby helping to distinguish the generation mechanisms. In this paper, taking advantage of the orbital characteristics of the four Cluster spacecraft, we devised a multi-spacecraft timing method to determine the axes of a total of 57 FTEs observed sequentially by Cluster during a high-latitude duskside magnetopause crossing. During the nearly five-hour observation, the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) experienced a large rotation, leading to a substantial rotation of the magnetosheath magnetic field. The analysis results show two new features of the FTE axis that have not been reported before: (1) the axes of the FTEs gradually rotate in response to the turning of the IMF and the magnetosheath magnetic field; (2) the axes of the FTEs vary between the direction of the magnetosheath magnetic field and the direction of the reconnection X-line. These features indicate that FTEs may have a more complex global configuration than depicted by traditional FTE models. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d84e1d3c733a442cb026e6644872d515 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-d84e1d3c733a442cb026e6644872d5152025-08-20T02:11:12ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332024-10-011510121510.3390/atmos15101215Determining the Axial Orientations of a Large Number of Flux Transfer Events Sequentially Observed by Cluster during a High-Latitude Magnetopause CrossingZhaoyu Li0Tao Chen1Lei Li2College of Physics and Electronics, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, ChinaCollege of Physics and Electronics, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, ChinaFlux transfer events (FTEs) are magnetic structures generally believed to originate from time-varying magnetic reconnection at the Earth’s magnetopause. Despite years of research, the mechanism of how FTEs are formed through reconnection remains controversial. In various models, FTEs exhibit different global configurations. Studying the FTE axial orientation can provide insights into their global shape, thereby helping to distinguish the generation mechanisms. In this paper, taking advantage of the orbital characteristics of the four Cluster spacecraft, we devised a multi-spacecraft timing method to determine the axes of a total of 57 FTEs observed sequentially by Cluster during a high-latitude duskside magnetopause crossing. During the nearly five-hour observation, the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) experienced a large rotation, leading to a substantial rotation of the magnetosheath magnetic field. The analysis results show two new features of the FTE axis that have not been reported before: (1) the axes of the FTEs gradually rotate in response to the turning of the IMF and the magnetosheath magnetic field; (2) the axes of the FTEs vary between the direction of the magnetosheath magnetic field and the direction of the reconnection X-line. These features indicate that FTEs may have a more complex global configuration than depicted by traditional FTE models.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/10/1215flux transfer eventflux rope orientationmagnetopausemagnetosphereCluster data |
| spellingShingle | Zhaoyu Li Tao Chen Lei Li Determining the Axial Orientations of a Large Number of Flux Transfer Events Sequentially Observed by Cluster during a High-Latitude Magnetopause Crossing Atmosphere flux transfer event flux rope orientation magnetopause magnetosphere Cluster data |
| title | Determining the Axial Orientations of a Large Number of Flux Transfer Events Sequentially Observed by Cluster during a High-Latitude Magnetopause Crossing |
| title_full | Determining the Axial Orientations of a Large Number of Flux Transfer Events Sequentially Observed by Cluster during a High-Latitude Magnetopause Crossing |
| title_fullStr | Determining the Axial Orientations of a Large Number of Flux Transfer Events Sequentially Observed by Cluster during a High-Latitude Magnetopause Crossing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determining the Axial Orientations of a Large Number of Flux Transfer Events Sequentially Observed by Cluster during a High-Latitude Magnetopause Crossing |
| title_short | Determining the Axial Orientations of a Large Number of Flux Transfer Events Sequentially Observed by Cluster during a High-Latitude Magnetopause Crossing |
| title_sort | determining the axial orientations of a large number of flux transfer events sequentially observed by cluster during a high latitude magnetopause crossing |
| topic | flux transfer event flux rope orientation magnetopause magnetosphere Cluster data |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/10/1215 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zhaoyuli determiningtheaxialorientationsofalargenumberoffluxtransfereventssequentiallyobservedbyclusterduringahighlatitudemagnetopausecrossing AT taochen determiningtheaxialorientationsofalargenumberoffluxtransfereventssequentiallyobservedbyclusterduringahighlatitudemagnetopausecrossing AT leili determiningtheaxialorientationsofalargenumberoffluxtransfereventssequentiallyobservedbyclusterduringahighlatitudemagnetopausecrossing |