Mass and energy transfer across the Earth's magnetopause caused by vortex-induced reconnection: Mass and energy transfer by K-H vortex

Nakamura, T. K.  M.; Eriksson, S.; Hasegawa, H.; Zenitani, S.; Li, W. Y.; Genestreti, K. J.; Nakamura, R.; Daughton, W.

doi:10.1002/2017JA024346

Title: Mass and energy transfer across the Earth's magnetopause caused by vortex-induced reconnection: Mass and energy transfer by K-H vortex

Journal Article · Mon Oct 23 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JA024346· OSTI ID:1407849

Nakamura, T. K. M. ^[1];

^[2];

^[3];

^[4]; Li, W. Y. ^[5]; Genestreti, K. J. ^[1];

^[1];

^[6]

Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz (Austria). Space Research Inst.
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Lab. for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tsukuba (Japan). Inst. of Space and Astronautical Science
Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Research Inst. for Sustainable Humanosphere
Swedish Inst. of Space Physics, Uppsala (Sweden); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). National Space Science Center
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

When the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is strongly northward, a boundary layer that contains a considerable amount of plasma of magnetosheath origin is often observed along and earthward of the low-latitude magnetopause. Such a pre-existing boundary layer, with a higher density than observed in the adjacent magnetosphere, reduces the local Alfvén speed and allows the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) to grow more strongly. We employ a three-dimensional fully kinetic simulation to model an event observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission in which the spacecraft detected substantial KH waves between a pre-existing boundary layer and the magnetosheath during strong northward IMF. Initial results of this simulation [Nakamura et al., 2017] have successfully demonstrated ion-scale signatures of magnetic reconnection induced by the non-linearly developed KH vortex, which are quantitatively consistent with MMS observations. Furthermore, we quantify the simulated mass and energy transfer processes driven by this vortex-induced reconnection (VIR) and show that during this particular MMS event (i) mass enters a new mixing layer formed by the VIR more efficiently from the pre-existing boundary layer side than from the magnetosheath side, (ii) mixed plasmas within the new mixing layer convect tailward along the magnetopause at more than half the magnetosheath flow speed, and (iii) energy dissipation in localized VIR dissipation regions results in a strong parallel electron heating within the mixing layer. Finally, the quantitative agreements between the simulation and MMS observations allow new predictions that elucidate how the mass and energy transfer processes occur near the magnetopause during strong northward IMF.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396; AC05-00OR22725; NNX08AO84G; NNX16AF75G; NNH13AV261

OSTI ID:: 1407849

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-17-28929; TRN: US1703056

Journal Information:: Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics, Vol. 122, Issue 11; ISSN 2169-9380

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 32 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (65)

Evidence for newly closed magnetosheath field lines at the dayside magnetopause under northward IMF Lavraud, B.; Thomsen, M. F.; Lefebvre, B. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue A5 https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JA011266	journal	January 2006
An extended study of the low-latitude boundary layer on the dawn and dusk flanks of the magnetosphere Mitchell, D. G.; Kutchko, F.; Williams, D. J. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 92, Issue A7 https://doi.org/10.1029/JA092iA07p07394	journal	January 1987
Transport of solar wind into Earth's magnetosphere through rolled-up Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices Hasegawa, H.; Fujimoto, M.; Phan, T. -D. Nature, Vol. 430, Issue 7001 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02799	journal	August 2004
Ubiquity of Kelvin–Helmholtz waves at Earth’s magnetopause Kavosi, Shiva; Raeder, Joachim Nature Communications, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8019	journal	May 2015
Interplanetary Magnetic Field and the Auroral Zones Dungey, J. W. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 6, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.6.47	journal	January 1961
Dissipation in magnetic reconnection with a guide magnetic field Hesse, Michael Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 13, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2403784	journal	December 2006
On the multispacecraft determination of periodic surface wave phase speeds and wavelengths: PERIODIC SURFACE WAVE PHASE SPEEDS Foullon, C.; Farrugia, C. J.; Fazakerley, A. N. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 115, Issue A9 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JA015189	journal	September 2010
Single-spacecraft detection of rolled-up Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices at the flank magnetopause Hasegawa, H.; Fujimoto, M.; Takagi, K. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue A9 https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JA011728	journal	January 2006
Magnetic reconnection induced by weak Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and the formation of the low-latitude boundary layer Nakamura, T. K. M.; Fujimoto, M.; Otto, A. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 33, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026318	journal	January 2006
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a magnetotail flank-like geometry: Three-dimensional MHD simulations Takagi, K.; Hashimoto, C.; Hasegawa, H. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue A8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JA011631	journal	January 2006
Plasma sheet formation during long period of northward IMF: PLASMA SHEET FORMATION Li, Wenhui; Raeder, Joachim; Dorelli, John Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 32, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL021524	journal	April 2005
Magnetic reconnection within rolled-up MHD-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices: Two-fluid simulations including finite electron inertial effects Nakamura, T. K. M.; Fujimoto, M. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 32, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL023362	journal	January 2005
The link between shocks, turbulence, and magnetic reconnection in collisionless plasmas Karimabadi, H.; Roytershteyn, V.; Vu, H. X. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4882875	journal	June 2014
Structure and Dynamics of the Magnetopause and Its Boundary Layers Hasegawa, Hiroshi Monographs on Environment, Earth and Planets, Vol. 1, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.5047/meep.2012.00102.0071	journal	August 2012
Magnetopause location under extreme solar wind conditions Shue, J. -H.; Song, P.; Russell, C. T. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 103, Issue A8 https://doi.org/10.1029/98JA01103	journal	August 1998
Decay of MHD-Scale Kelvin-Helmholtz Vortices Mediated by Parasitic Electron Dynamics Nakamura, T. K. M.; Hayashi, D.; Fujimoto, M. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 92, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.92.145001	journal	April 2004
Role of electron physics in the development of turbulent magnetic reconnection in collisionless plasmas Daughton, W.; Roytershteyn, V.; Karimabadi, H. Nature Physics, Vol. 7, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1965	journal	April 2011
Turbulent mass transfer caused by vortex induced reconnection in collisionless magnetospheric plasmas Nakamura, T. K. M.; Hasegawa, H.; Daughton, W. Nature Communications, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01579-0	journal	November 2017
Turbulent plasma transport across the Earth's low-latitude boundary layer: NAKAMURA AND DAUGHTON Nakamura, T. K. M.; Daughton, W. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 41, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061952	journal	December 2014
Turbulent mixing and transport of collisionless plasmas across a stratified velocity shear layer Matsumoto, Yosuke; Hoshino, Masahiro Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue A5 https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JA010988	journal	January 2006
Transition from antiparallel to component magnetic reconnection Swisdak, M. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 110, Issue A5 https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JA010748	journal	January 2005
Hybrid simulations of plasma transport by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetopause: Density variations and magnetic shear: HYBRID SIMULATION OF KHI AT MAGNETOPAUSE Cowee, M. M.; Winske, D.; Gary, S. P. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 115, Issue A6 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JA015011	journal	June 2010
Magnetospheric Multiscale Observations of the Electron Diffusion Region of Large Guide Field Magnetic Reconnection Eriksson, S.; Wilder, F. D.; Ergun, R. E. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 117, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.015001	journal	July 2016
Anomalous transport by magnetohydrodynamic Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction Miura, Akira Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 89, Issue A2 https://doi.org/10.1029/JA089iA02p00801	journal	January 1984
Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at the Earth's magnetopause: Multiscale development and associated reconnection: DEVELOPMENT OF MAGNETOPAUSE KH-WAVE Hasegawa, H.; Retinò, A.; Vaivads, A. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 114, Issue A12 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JA014042	journal	December 2009
Magnetic reconnection and Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities at the Earth's magnetopause Faganello, M.; Califano, F.; Pegoraro, F. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Vol. 54, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/0741-3335/54/12/124037	journal	November 2012
Evolution of Kelvin-Helmholtz activity on the dusk flank magnetopause: EVOLUTION OF KELVIN-HELMHOLTZ ACTIVITY Foullon, C.; Farrugia, C. J.; Fazakerley, A. N. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 113, Issue A11 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JA013175	journal	November 2008
Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of magnetic reconnection associated with Kelvin-Helmholtz waves: KH-Associated Magnetic Reconnection Eriksson, S.; Lavraud, B.; Wilder, F. D. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068783	journal	June 2016
The Collisionless Macroscopic Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, 1. Transverse Electrostatic Mode Pritchett, P. L.; Coroniti, F. V. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 89, Issue A1 https://doi.org/10.1029/JA089iA01p00168	journal	January 1984
Dayside magnetic topology at the Earth's magnetopause for northward IMF: DAYSIDE TOPOLOGY FOR NORTHWARD IMF Fuselier, S. A.; Trattner, K. J.; Petrinec, S. M. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 117, Issue A8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JA017852	journal	August 2012
Quasi-periodic oscillations of the magnetopause during northward sheath magnetic field Kokubun, S.; Kawano, H.; Nakamura, M. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 21, Issue 25 https://doi.org/10.1029/94GL02103	journal	December 1994
Magnetospheric Multiscale Overview and Science Objectives Burch, J. L.; Moore, T. E.; Torbert, R. B. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 199, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0164-9	journal	May 2015
Kinetic evidence of magnetic reconnection due to Kelvin-Helmholtz waves: RECONNECTION DUE TO KHW Li, W.; André, M.; Khotyaintsev, Yu. V. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069192	journal	June 2016
Multi-scale structures of turbulent magnetic reconnection Nakamura, T. K. M.; Nakamura, R.; Narita, Y. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 23, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4951025	journal	May 2016
Formation of a broad plasma turbulent layer by forward and inverse energy cascades of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability: BROAD TURBULENT LAYER BY KH INSTABILITY Matsumoto, Yosuke; Seki, Kanako Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 115, Issue A10 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JA014637	journal	October 2010
THEMIS multi-spacecraft observations of magnetosheath plasma penetration deep into the dayside low-latitude magnetosphere for northward and strong B _y IMF Øieroset, M.; Phan, T. D.; Angelopoulos, V. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 35, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033661	journal	January 2008
Three-dimensional collisionless magnetic reconnection in the presence of a guide field Pritchett, P. L. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 109, Issue A1 https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JA009999	journal	January 2004
The FIELDS Instrument Suite on MMS: Scientific Objectives, Measurements, and Data Products Torbert, R. B.; Russell, C. T.; Magnes, W. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 199, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-014-0109-8	journal	November 2014
The Magnetospheric Multiscale Magnetometers Russell, C. T.; Anderson, B. J.; Baumjohann, W. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 199, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-014-0057-3	journal	August 2014
Fast Plasma Investigation for Magnetospheric Multiscale Pollock, C.; Moore, T.; Jacques, A. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 199, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-016-0245-4	journal	March 2016
Ultrahigh performance three-dimensional electromagnetic relativistic kinetic plasma simulation Bowers, K. J.; Albright, B. J.; Yin, L. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 15, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2840133	journal	May 2008
New Measure of the Dissipation Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection Zenitani, Seiji; Hesse, Michael; Klimas, Alex Physical Review Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.195003	journal	May 2011
Structure of the low-latitude boundary layer Sckopke, N.; Paschmann, G.; Haerendel, G. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 86, Issue A4 https://doi.org/10.1029/JA086iA04p02099	journal	January 1981
Structure of an MHD-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex: Two-dimensional two-fluid simulations including finite electron inertial effects: THE STRUCTURE OF AN MHD-SCALE KH VORTEX Nakamura, T. K. M.; Fujimoto, M.; Otto, A. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 113, Issue A9 https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JA012803	journal	September 2008
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetotail boundary: MHD simulation and comparison with Geotail observations Otto, A.; Fairfield, D. H. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 105, Issue A9 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JA000312	journal	September 2000
Plasma transport at the magnetospheric boundary due to reconnection in Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices Nykyri, K.; Otto, A. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 28, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1029/2001GL013239	journal	September 2001
The Axial Double Probe and Fields Signal Processing for the MMS Mission Ergun, R. E.; Tucker, S.; Westfall, J. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 199, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-014-0115-x	journal	December 2014
Geotail observations of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the equatorial magnetotail boundary for parallel northward fields Fairfield, D. H.; Otto, A.; Mukai, T. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 105, Issue A9 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JA000316	journal	September 2000
Simulation of magnetopause oscillations observed January 9, 1996 Slinker, S. P. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 30, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL017063	journal	January 2003
Timescale for the formation of the cold-dense plasma sheet: A case study Wing, Simon; Johnson, Jay R.; Fujimoto, Masaki Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 33, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL027110	journal	January 2006
The Spin-Plane Double Probe Electric Field Instrument for MMS Lindqvist, P. -A.; Olsson, G.; Torbert, R. B. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 199, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-014-0116-9	journal	November 2014
Flux Pileup in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection: Bursty Interaction of Large Flux Ropes Karimabadi, H.; Dorelli, J.; Roytershteyn, V. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 107, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.025002	journal	July 2011
Solar wind entry into the high-latitude terrestrial magnetosphere during geomagnetically quiet times Shi, Q. Q.; Zong, Q. -G.; Fu, S. Y. Nature Communications, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2476	journal	February 2013
Two-dimensional hybrid simulations of superdiffusion at the magnetopause driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability: KHI-DRIVEN ENHANCED DIFFUSION Cowee, M. M.; Winske, D.; Gary, S. P. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 114, Issue A10 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JA014222	journal	October 2009
Computing the reconnection rate in turbulent kinetic layers by using electron mixing to identify topology Daughton, W.; Nakamura, T. K. M.; Karimabadi, H. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4875730	journal	May 2014
Nonlocal stability analysis of the MHD Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in a compressible plasma Miura, Akira; Pritchett, P. L. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 87, Issue A9 https://doi.org/10.1029/JA087iA09p07431	journal	January 1982
Magnetospheric Multiscale Science Mission Profile and Operations Fuselier, S. A.; Lewis, W. S.; Schiff, C. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 199, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-014-0087-x	journal	September 2014
Evolution of an MHD-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex accompanied by magnetic reconnection: Two-dimensional particle simulations: EVOLUTION OF VORTEX-INDUCED RECONNECTION Nakamura, T. K. M.; Hasegawa, H.; Shinohara, I. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 116, Issue A3 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JA016046	journal	March 2011
Advances in petascale kinetic plasma simulation with VPIC and Roadrunner Bowers, K. J.; Albright, B. J.; Yin, L. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Vol. 180 https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/180/1/012055	journal	July 2009
Global features of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at the magnetopause for northward interplanetary magnetic field: GLOBAL FEATURES OF KHW Li, Wenya; Wang, Chi; Tang, Binbin Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 118, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1002/jgra.50498	journal	August 2013
Three-dimensional dynamics of vortex-induced reconnection and comparison with THEMIS observations: VORTEX-INDUCED RECONNECTION IN 3-D Nakamura, T. K. M.; Daughton, W.; Karimabadi, H. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 118, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/jgra.50547	journal	September 2013
Signatures of complex magnetic topologies from multiple reconnection sites induced by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability: KH Wave Induced Reconnection and Topology Vernisse, Y.; Lavraud, B.; Eriksson, S. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 121, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JA023051	journal	October 2016
Electron dynamics surrounding the X line in asymmetric magnetic reconnection Zenitani, Seiji; Hasegawa, Hiroshi; Nagai, Tsugunobu Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Vol. 122, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JA023969	journal	July 2017
New Measure of the Dissipation Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection Zenitani, Seiji; Hesse, Michael; Klimas, Alex arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1104.3846	text	January 2011
The Transition from Anti-Parallel to Component Magnetic Reconnection Swisdak, M.; Drake, J. F.; Shay, M. A. arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.physics/0503064	text	January 2005

Cited By (2)

Drift turbulence, particle transport, and anomalous dissipation at the reconnecting magnetopause Le, A.; Daughton, W.; Ohia, O. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 25, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5027086	journal	June 2018
Satellite Data‐Based 3‐D Simulation of Kelvin‐Helmholtz Instability and Induced Magnetic Reconnection at the Earth's Magnetopause Sisti, M.; Faganello, M.; Califano, F. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019gl083282	journal	November 2019

Similar Records

Location of the source for the energetic electron layer at the polar magnetopause and its relation to magnetic reconnection

Journal Article · Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1981 · J. Geophys. Res.; (United States) · OSTI ID:1407849

Formisano, V; Domingo, V; Wenzel, K

Turbulent mass transfer caused by vortex induced reconnection in collisionless magnetospheric plasmas

Journal Article · Fri Nov 17 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Nature Communications · OSTI ID:1407849

Nakamura, T. K. M.; Hasegawa, H.; Daughton, William Scott; +3 more

Structure of the magnetopause for low Mach number and strongly northward interplanetary magnetic field

Journal Article · Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1994 · Journal of Geophysical Research · OSTI ID:1407849

Le, G; Russell, C T; Gosling, J T

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
Heliospheric and Magnetospheric Physics
magnetic reconnection
turbulence
kelvin-helmholtz
transport
magnetopause

Title: Mass and energy transfer across the Earth's magnetopause caused by vortex-induced reconnection: Mass and energy transfer by K-H vortex

Citation Formats

References (65)

Cited By (2)

Similar Records

Related Subjects