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At least 307 records · Page 17

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NASA NTRS1991

Dynamic magnetic reconnection at an X-type neutral point

The relaxation of a two-dimensional 'X-type' neutral point magnetic field disturbed from equilibrium is considered. Perturbations are shown to possess well-defined azimuthal modes which allow an exact determination of the magnetic annihilation rate. Free magnetic energy is dissipated by oscillatory reconnection which couples resistive diffusion at the neutral point to global advection of the outer field. The decay of azimuthally symmetric (m = 0) modes - the only modes associated with topological reconnection - is limited by the dissipation time scale of the 'fundamental' (n = 0) mode with no radial nodes. This mode decays over typically 100 Alfven times. An analytic treatment shows that the oscillation and decay time scales couple according to a given law.

Craig, I. J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Reconnection voltage as a function of IMF clock angle

Magnetic reconnection between the IMF and the geomagnetic field is thought to play a major role in the transfer of solar wind momentum and energy to the magnetosphere. Both analytic modeling and analysis of geophysical data have shown that this coupling process should be a sensitive function of the clock angle of the IMF. Results are presented from a three-dimensional, MHD, global numerical simulation code for the reconnection voltage between the closed geomagnetic field and the IMF as a function of the IMF clock angle. These results are consistent with a sin(theta/2) functional behavior.

Fedder, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Structure of the dissipation region during magnetic reconnection in collisionless plasma

The results are presented of an analytic and numerical investigation of the structure of the X line during steady state magnetic reconnection in collisionless plasma. The structure of the X line essentially depends on a single dimensionless parameter F, which is a measure of the influx of plasma into the reconnection region. For small F the self-consistent plasma current driven at the X line is small, and the magnetic fields are nearly unchanged from the initial vacuum state. With increasing F the current driven at the X line becomes large and the dissipation region collapses in the direction of the inflow and elongates along the outflow. For sufficiently large F the velocity of the plasma ejected form the X line exceeds the local Alfven velocity. In this regime a fast mode shock forms at the outflow end of the dissipation region which slows the high-velocity outflow plasma to the subsonic flow characteristic of the broader outflow region. Finally, at a critical plasma flux the dissipation region collapses to zero thickness.

Burkhart, G. R.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Forced magnetic reconnection in a plasma sheet with localized resistivity profile excited by lower hybrid drift type instability

A forced magnetic reconnection process with a temporal evolution of resistivity is studied for a plasma sheet with a nonuniform resistivity profile based on the nonlocal mode structure of the lower hybrid drift type instability. The growth rate of the mode found is almost independent of the resistivity at the neutral sheet, but depends on the resistivity of the region of maximum density gradient away from the neutral sheet. This is studied by using both a nonlinear numerical MHD simulation and a linear theory. The mode may be relevant to the prevalent theoretical concept of MHD reconnection and the localized anomalous resistivity profile based on the lower hybrid drift instability.

Hoshino, M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Magnetic flipping - Reconnection in three dimensions without null points

In three dimensions, magnetic reconnection may take place in a sheared magnetic field at any singular field line, where the nearby field has X-type topology in planes perpendicular to the field line and where an electric field is present parallel to the field line. In the ideal region around the singular line there will, in general, be singularities in the plasma flow and electric field, both at the singular line and at 'magnetic flipping layers', which are remnants of local magnetic separatrices. In the absence of a three-dimensional magnetic neutral point or null point, reconnection of field lines can still occur by a process of magnetic flipping, in which the plasma crosses the flipping layers but the field lines rapidly flip along them by magnetic diffusion. Depending on the boundary conditions, there may be two or four flipping layers which converge on the singular line. A boundary layer analysis of a flipping layer is given, in which the magnetic field parallel to the layer decreases as one crosses it while the plasma pressure (or magnetic pressure associated with the field along the singular line) increases. The width of the flipping layer decreases with distance from the singular line.

Priest, E. R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The role of intermediate shocks in magnetic reconnection

The present study examines the structure of discontinuity layers associated with magnetic reconnection by numerically solving the Riemann problem for the evolution of an initial current sheet which separates two plasma regions with antiparallel magnetic field components in the z direction and a common guide magnetic field in the y direction. In the presence of a nonzero normal component of the magnetic field, the initial current sheet evolves into a system of MHD discontinuities. For the initial current sheet with a zero guide field, steady intermediate shocks, slow shocks, slow expansion waves, or contact discontinuity are observed to develop. For the current sheet with a nonzero guide field, time-dependent intermediate shocks, instead of steady intermediate shocks, are observed to bound the reconnection layer.

Lin, Y.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Magnetic blowout during collisionless reconnection

Analytic calculations and simulations of the steady-state structure of the dissipation region during collisionless reconnection are described. Ions are treated as particles and electrons as a dissipative fluid. A limiting reconnection rate results as the ions 'blowout' the magnetic field in the dissipation area. The implications for comprehending substorm dynamics are discussed.

Drake, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Comment on 'Observations of reconnection of interplanetary and lobe magnetic field lines at the high-latitude magnetopause' by J.T. Gosling, M.F. Thomsen, S.J. Bame, R.C. Elphic, and C.T. Russell

Comment is presented on the results of measurements, reported by Gosling et al. (1991), that were made on ISEE in the vicinity of the high-latitude dusk magnetopause near the terminator plane, at a time when the local magnetosheath and tail lobe magnetic fields were nearly oppositely directed. The character of the observed plasma flowing both tailward and sunward within the high-latitude magnetopause current layer presented real evidence for the local reconnection process. Gosling et al. argued that this process may be a manifestation of different global magnetospheric topology structures. In the comment, a global magnetospheric convection pattern is constructed for the northward IMF and for the case of a large azimuthal component of the IMF with small Bz, irrespective of its sign. The suggested scheme provides a simple explanation for the observed sunward convection in the polar caps both for the northward and for strong By with small Bz. According to the present model, for the magnetosheath field at 2300 UT on June 11, 1978, the reconnection between the open field lines appears at the northern neutral point.

Belen'kaia, Elena↗

NASA NTRS1992

Three-dimensional kinematic reconnection of plasmoids with nulls

The global nonlinear dynamics of magnetic field lines in plasmoids with a pair of nulls, where B = 0, is studied. The aim of this analysis is to describe the separatrix surfaces on which singularities can occur in ideal magnetohydrodynamics because of topological changes in the field. These separatrix surfaces should locate the boundary layers associated with 3D reconnection in the presence of resistivity or inertia. It is found that the field lines exhibit chaotic scattering with several properties in common with plasmoid models without nulls (in which one component of the magnetic field never changes sign). In particular, the singular surfaces can be fractal, implying complex current density structures down to the dissipation scale. These generic features are expected to exist in typical coronal magnetic geometries exhibiting three-dimensional reconnection and the formation of current sheets.

Lau, Yun-Tung↗

NASA NTRS1993

Reconnection of vorticity lines and magnetic lines

Magnetic field and fluid vorticity share many features. First, as divergence-free vector fields they are conveniently visualized in terms of their field lines, curves that are everywhere tangent to the field. The lines indicate direction and their density indicates field strength. The question arises of the extent to which the evolution of the fields can be treated in terms of the evolution of their field lines. Newcomb (1958) derived the general conditions on the evolution of vector fields that permit the identification of field lines from one instant to the next. The equations of evolution of the vorticity field and the magnetic field fall within Newcomb's analysis. The dynamics of the flows differ between these two systems, so that geometrically similar phenomena happen in different ways in the two systems. In this paper the geometrical similarities are emphasized. Reconnection will be defined here as evolution in which it is not possible to preserve the global identification of some field lines. There is a close relation between reconnection and the topology of the vector field lines. Nontrivial topology occurs where the field has null points or there are field lines that are closed loops.

Greene, John M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Excitation and decay of flows in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system due to magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetospause and in the geomagnetic tail

The excitation and decay of flows in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system which are caused by magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause and in the geomagnetic tail are applied. Following an outline of the theoretical framework recently introduced by Cowley and Lockwood, their ideas are applied to the discussion of the time dependent flows generated by both impulsive and quasicontinuous reconnection.

Cowley, Stanley W. H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Location and characteristics of the reconnection X-line deduced from low-altitude satellite and radar observations

We present an analysis of a cusp ion step observed between two poleward-moving events of enhanced ionospheric electron temperature. From the computed variation of the reconnection rate and the onset times of the associated ionospheric events, the distance between the satellite and the X-line can be estimated, but with a large uncertainty due to that in the determination of the low-energy cut-off of the ion velocity distribution function, f(E). Nevertheless, analysis of the time series f(t) shows the reconnection site to be on the dayside magnetopause, consistent with the pulsating cusp model, and the best estimate of the X-line location is 13 R(E) from the satellite. The ion precipitation is used to reconstruct the field-parallel part of the Cowley-D ion distribution function injected into the open low latitude boundary layer (LLBL) in the vicinity of the X-line. From this the Alfven speed, plasma density, magnetic field, parallel ion temperature, and flow velocity of the magnetosheath near the X-line can be derived.

Lockwood, M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Nonlinear evolution of the coronal magnetic field under reconnective relaxation

Recently, Vekstein et al. (Vekstein, Priest, & Steele 1993) have developed a model for coronal heating in which the corona responds to photospheric footpoint motions by small-scale reconnection events that bring about a relaxed state while conserving magnetic helicity but not field-line connectivity. Vekstein et al. consider a partially open field configuration in which magnetic helicity is ejected to infinity on open field lines but retained in the closed-field region. Under this scheme, they describe the evolution of an initially potential field, in response to helicity injection, in the linear regime. The present work uses numerical calculations to extend the model of Vekstein et al. into the fully nonlinear regime. The results show a rise and bulging of the field lines of the closed-field region with increasing magnetic helicity, to a point where further solutions are impossible. We interpret these solution-sequence endpoints as indicating a possible loss of equilibrium, in the sense that a relaxed equilibrium state may no longer be available to the corona when sufficient helicity has been injected. The rise and bulging behavior is reminiscent of what is observed in a helmet streamer just before the start of a coronal mass ejection (CME), and so our model suggests that a catastrophic loss of magnetic equilibrium might be the initiation mechanism for CMEs. We also find that some choices of boundary conditions can result in qualitative changes in the magnetic topology, with the appearance of magnetic islands. Whether or not this behavior occurs depends on the relative strengths of the fields in the closed- and open-field regions; in particular, island formation is most likely when the open field (which is potential) is strong and thus acts to confine the force-free closed field. Finally, we show that the energy released through reconnective relaxation can be a substantial fraction of the magnetic energy injected into the corona through footpoint motions and may be sufficient for heating the corona above active regions.

Wolfson, R.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Observation of a slow-mode shock in the dayside magnetopause reconnection layer

Plasma and magnetic field data from the International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE) 2 spacecraft recorded on 29 Oct 1979 provide evidence for a slow shock (SS) in the reconnection layer of the dayside magnetopause. This layer is bounded on the magnetosheath side by the SS and on the magnetospheric side by a rotational discontinuity (RD). The direction of the accelerated plasma flow, the earthward sense of the normal magnetic field across both discontinuities, and the relative orientation of the SS and the RD all indicate that the reconnection site was located south of the spacecraft. Examination of the substantial pressure anisotropy downstream of the SS explains two unusual properties of the shock: (1) the slow-mode and intermediate-mode phase speeds are inverted downstream of the SS such that the RD propagates behind the SS rather than ahead of it; (2) the magnetic wave polarization reserves such that the SS initially displays a left-handed polarization and then switches to a right-handed polarization inside the shock structure.

Walthour, D. W.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Kinetic aspects of reconnection at the magnetopause

Observations presented here support the kinetic (or single particle) description of reconnection where ions interacting with the magnetopause conserve their pitch angles or change them by equal amounts as in adiabatic motion. These observations include ion reflection and transmission at the magnetopause and time of flight effects associated with the magnetopause layers, with an emphasis here on ion reflection. Velocities of the reflected distributions predicted from this kinetic description are in good agreement with observed velocities. However, predicted velocities for the transmitted distributions are often higher than observed ones. Reflected distributions are also heated at the magnetopause; however, this heating is less important than the large scale ion motion. Reflection coefficients at the magnetopause are high (averaging 30%), appear to be the same on either side of the magnetopause, and have little or no dependence on ion mass. Time of flight effects result from the finite extent of the reconnection layers and are best observed at the edges of the layers.

Fuselier, Stephen A.↗

NASA NTRS1999

The Role of Self-Organized Criticality in the Substorm Phenomenon and its Relation to Localized Reconnection in the Magnetospheric Plasma Sheet

Evidence is presented that suggests there is a significant self-organized criticality (SOC) component in the dynamics of substorms in the magnetosphere. Observations of BBFs, fast flows, localized dipolarizations, plasma turbulence, etc. are taken to show that multiple localized reconnection sites provide the basic avalanche phenomenon in the establishment of SOC in the plasma sheet. First results are presented from a continuing plasma physical study of this avalanche process. A one-dimensional resistive MHD model of a magnetic field reversal is discussed. Resistivity, in this model, is self-consistently generated in response to the excitation of an idealized current-driven instability. When forced by convection of magnetic flux into the field reversal region, the model yields rapid magnetic field annihilation through a dynamic behavior that is shown to exhibit many of the characteristics of SOC. Over a large range of forcing strengths, the annihilation rate is shown to self-adjust to balance the rate at which flux is convected into the reversal region. Several analogies to magnetotail dynamics are discussed: (1) It is shown that the presence of a localized criticality in the model produces a remarkable stability in the global configuration of the field reversal while simultaneously exciting extraordinarily dynamic internal evolution. (2) Under steady forcing, it is shown that a loading-unloading cycle may arise that, as a consequence of the global stability, is quasi-periodic and, therefore, predictable despite the presence of internal turbulence in the field distribution. Indeed, it is shown that the global loading-unloading cycle is a consequence of the internal turbulence. (3) It is shown that, under steady, strong forcing the loading-unloading cycle vanishes. Instead, a recovery from a single unloading persists indefinitely. The field reversal is globally very steady while internally it is very dynamic as field annihilation goes on at the rate necessary to match the strong forcing. From this result we speculate that steady magnetospheric convection events result when the plasma sheet has been driven close to criticality over an extended spatial domain. During these events, we would expect to find localized reconnection sites distributed over the spatial domain of near criticality and we would expect to find plasma sheet transport in that domain to be closely related to that of BBF and fast flow events.

Klimas, Alex J.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Reconnection Remnants in the Magnetic Cloud of October 18-19, 1995: A Shock, Monochromatic Wave, Heat Flux Dropout and Energetic Ion Beam

Evidence is presented that the WIND spacecraft observed particle and field signatures on October 18-19, 1995 due to reconnection near the footpoints of a magnetic cloud (i.e., between 1 and 5 solar radii). These signatures include: (1) an internal shock traveling approximately along the axis of the magnetic cloud, (2) a simple compression of the magnetic field consistent with the footpoint magnetic fields being thrust outwards at speeds much greater than the solar wind speed, (3) an electron heat flux dropout occurring within minutes of the shock indicating a topological change resulting from disconnection from the solar surface, (4) a very cold 5 keV proton beam and (5) an associated monochromatic wave. We expect that, given observations of enough magnetic clouds, Wind and other spacecraft will see signatures similar to the ones reported here indicating reconnection. However, these observations require the spacecraft to be fortuitously positioned to observe the passing shock and other signatures and will therefore be associated with only a small fraction of magnetic clouds. Consistent with this, a few magnetic clouds observed by Wind have been found to possess internal shock waves.

Collier, Michael R.↗

NASA NTRS2001

EIT and SXT Observations of a Quiet Region Filament Ejection: First Eruption, Then Reconnection

We observe a slow-onset quiet-region filament eruption with the EUV Imaging Telescope (EIT) on SOHO, and the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) on Yohkoh. This event occurred on 1999 April 18, and was likely the origin of a coronal mass ejection (CME) detected by SOHO at 08:30 UT on that day. In EIT, one-half of the filament shows two stages of evolution: Stage I is a slow, roughly constant upward movement at approx. 1 km per second lasting approximately 6.5 hours, and Stage 2 is a rapid upward eruption at approximately 16 kilometers per second occurring just before the filament disappears into interplanetary space. The other half of the filament shows little motion along the line-of-sight during the time of Stage 1, but erupts along with the rest of the filament during Stage 2. There is no obvious emission from the filament in SXT until Stage 2; at that time an arcade of EUV and soft X-ray loops forms first at the central location of the filament, and then expands outward along the length of the filament channel. A plot of EUV intensity versus time of the central portion of the filament (where the postflare loops initially form) shows a flat profile during Stage 1, and a rapid upturn after the start of Stage 2. This lightcurve is delayed from what would be expected if "tether-cutting" reconnection in the core of the erupting region were responsible for the initiation of the eruption. Rather, these observations suggest that a loss of stability of the magnetic field holding the filament initiates the eruption, with reconnection in the core region occurring only as a byproduct.

Sterling, Alphonse C.↗