skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Global Hybrid Simulations of Interaction Between Interplanetary Rotational Discontinuity and Bow Shock/Magnetosphere: Can Ion-Scale Magnetic Reconnection be Driven by Rotational Discontinuity Downstream of Quasi-Parallel Shock?

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ja028853· OSTI ID:1852484

Ion-scale magnetic reconnection has been observed downstream of the terrestrial quasi-parallel (Q-∥) shock. Whether it is driven by interplanetary discontinuities or turbulent Q-∥ shock, however, is unclear. Using three-dimensional global hybrid simulation, we investigate the generation of magnetic reconnection downstream of the Q-∥ shock, while an interplanetary rotational discontinuity (RD) is launched to the bow shock. Cases with various solar wind Alfvén Mach numbers, MA = 3.0 to 8, and propagation directions of the RD are presented. The propagation direction n is assumed to be in the GSE xz plane and pointing earthward, with n = (-sin(θ12/2),0,-cos(θ12/2)), where θ12 is the angle between the upstream (B1) and downstream (B2) magnetic fields across the transmitted RD. It is found that magnetic reconnection occurs inside the RD downstream of the Q-∥ shock, forming flux ropes extending along the dawn-dusk direction about tens of ion inertial lengths. Large-amplitude low-frequency waves originated from the Q-∥ shock lead to the bending and squeezing of the field lines around the RD, which play an important role in triggering reconnection inside the RD. As the RD impacts the dayside magnetopause, magnetopause reconnection takes place between the field lines behind the RD and geomagnetic field lines. Nevertheless, no reconnection is found downstream of the Q-∥ shock itself or outside the RD in the magnetosheath. The existent and structure of reconnection in the magnetosheath are found to strongly depend on the parameters MA and n. Our simulation shows that ion-scale magnetic reconnection is driven by an external driver in the form of the compression of an RD around the bow shock and in the magnetosheath, rather than caused by the turbulent Q-∥ shock alone.

Research Organization:
Auburn Univ., AL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0018071; 80NSSC17K0012; NNX17AI47G; FOA-0001664
OSTI ID:
1852484
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics, Vol. 126, Issue 4; ISSN 2169-9380
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (60)

Macrostructure of collisionless bow shocks: 2. ULF waves in the foreshock and magnetosheath journal January 2006
Locating three-dimensional roots by a bisection method journal February 1992
Magnetic field directional discontinuities: Characteristics between 0.46 and 1.0 AU journal January 1986
Alfvén waves in the foreshock propagating upstream in the plasma rest frame: statistics from Cluster observations journal January 2004
Predictions of magnetosheath merging between IMF field lines of opposite polarity: PREDICTIONS OF MAGNETOSHEATH MERGING journal December 2002
Three-dimensional hybrid simulation of magnetosheath reconnection under northward and southward interplanetary magnetic field: MAGNETOSHEATH RECONNECTION journal March 2010
Guide Field Reconnection: Exhaust Structure and Heating journal May 2018
THEMIS multispacecraft observations of a reconnecting magnetosheath current sheet with symmetric boundary conditions and a large guide field: Guide Field Magnetosheath Reconnection journal August 2017
Use of a Hybrid Code for Global-Scale Plasma Simulation journal June 1996
Correlation properties of magnetosheath magnetic field fluctuations: CORRELATION OF MAGNETOSHEATH FLUCTUATIONS journal August 2009
Diffuse ions at a quasi-parallel collisionless shock: Simulations journal October 1990
Foreshock Properties at Typical and Enhanced Interplanetary Magnetic Field Strengths: Results From Hybrid-Vlasov Simulations journal July 2018
Global-scale hybrid simulation of dayside magnetic reconnection under southward IMF: Structure and evolution of reconnection: DAYSIDE RECONNECTION UNDER SOUTHWARD IMF journal February 2011
Investigation of storm time magnetotail and ion injection using three-dimensional global hybrid simulation journal September 2014
Interaction of interplanetary shocks and rotational discontinuities with the Earth's bow shock journal March 1996
The link between shocks, turbulence, and magnetic reconnection in collisionless plasmas journal June 2014
In situ evidence of magnetic reconnection in turbulent plasma journal March 2007
Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in the Transition Region of Quasi‐Parallel Shocks journal February 2019
MMS Observations and Hybrid Simulations of Surface Ripples at a Marginally Quasi-Parallel Shock: RIPPLES AT A QUASI-PARALLEL SHOCK journal November 2017
Particle simulation study of collisionless driven reconnection in a sheared magnetic field journal February 1997
Three spacecraft observations of solar wind discontinuities journal February 2001
MMS Observation of Magnetic Reconnection in the Turbulent Magnetosheath: RECONNECTION IN THE MAGNETOSHEATH journal November 2017
Plasma rest frame frequencies and polarizations of the low-frequency upstream waves: ISEE 1 and 2 Observations journal January 1983
Fine-scale characteristics of interplanetary sector boundaries journal January 1981
Magnetosheath Reconnection Before Magnetopause Reconnection Driven by Interplanetary Tangential Discontinuity: A Three‐Dimensional Global Hybrid Simulation With Oblique Interplanetary Magnetic Field journal November 2018
Three-dimensional global hybrid simulation of dayside dynamics associated with the quasi-parallel bow shock journal January 2005
Generation of kinetic Alfvén waves in dayside magnetopause reconnection: A 3-D global-scale hybrid simulation journal July 2019
Hybrid simulations of magnetic reconnection initiated in the magnetosheath: SHEATH RECONNECTION journal February 2009
Electron scale structures and magnetic reconnection signatures in the turbulent magnetosheath: CURRENT SHEETS IN THE MAGNETOSHEATH journal June 2016
Generation of slow-mode waves in front of the dayside magnetopause journal April 1994
Generation of dynamic pressure pulses downstream of the bow shock by variations in the interplanetary magnetic field orientation journal January 1996
Foreshock wave interaction with the magnetopause: Signatures of mode conversion journal July 2017
Interaction of the bow shock with a tangential discontinuity and solar wind density decrease: Observations of predicted fast mode waves and magnetosheath merging: FAST WAVES AND MAGNETOSHEATH MERGING journal December 2007
Electron-Scale Quadrants of the Hall Magnetic Field Observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft during Asymmetric Reconnection journal April 2017
Low frequency waves observed by Interball-1 in foreshock and magnetosheath journal January 2006
Effect of upstream rotational field on the formation of magnetic depressions in a quasi-perpendicular shock downstream: FORMATION OF MAGNETIC DEPRESSION journal April 2005
Investigating the anatomy of magnetosheath jets – MMS observations journal January 2018
Three-dimensional MHD simulations of interplanetary rotational discontinuities impacting the Earth's bow shock and magnetosheath journal December 1998
Turbulence‐Driven Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosheath Downstream of a Quasi‐Parallel Shock: A Three‐Dimensional Global Hybrid Simulation journal January 2020
Geospace Environmental Modeling (GEM) Magnetic Reconnection Challenge journal March 2001
Triggering of magnetic reconnection in a magnetosheath current sheet due to compression against the magnetopause: TRIGGERING OF RECONNECTION journal September 2011
Multipoint study of magnetosheath magnetic field fluctuations and their relation to the foreshock: MAGNETOSHEATH FLUCTUATIONS journal April 2012
New Measure of the Dissipation Region in Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection journal May 2011
Electron magnetic reconnection without ion coupling in Earth’s turbulent magnetosheath journal May 2018
Tail Reconnection Triggering Substorm Onset journal August 2008
A case study of oppositely propagating Alfvénic fluctuations in the solar wind and magnetosheath journal December 1997
Kinetic-scale Flux Rope in the Magnetosheath Boundary Layer journal July 2020
Generation of anomalous flows near the bow shock by its interaction with interplanetary discontinuities journal November 1997
Simulation of pressure pulses in the bow shock and magnetosheath driven by variations in interplanetary magnetic field direction journal December 1996
Evidence for magnetic reconnection initiated in the magnetosheath journal January 2007
THEMIS Observations of Particle Acceleration by a Magnetosheath Jet‐Driven Bow Wave journal July 2019
Geospace Environment Modeling magnetic reconnection challenge: Simulations with a full particle electromagnetic code journal March 2001
Collisionless magnetic reconnection: Electron processes and transport modeling journal March 2001
Directional discontinuities in the interplanetary magnetic field journal April 1969
Collisionless reconnection supported by nongyrotropic pressure effects in hybrid and particle simulations journal March 2001
Magnetic Reconnection in a Quasi‐Parallel Shock: Two‐Dimensional Local Particle‐in‐Cell Simulation journal August 2019
Upstream waves and particles journal February 1983
Two-scale structure of the current layer controlled by meandering motion during steady-state collisionless driven reconnection journal July 2004
Interplanetary discontinuities: Temporal variations and the radial gradient from 1 to 8.5 AU journal January 1979
Structure and dynamics of magnetic reconnection for substorm onsets with Geotail observations journal March 1998

Similar Records

Magnetic Reconnection Inside Solar Wind Rotational Discontinuity During Its Interaction With the Quasi-Perpendicular Bow Shock and Magnetosheath
Journal Article · Wed Dec 08 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics · OSTI ID:1852484

Magnetosheath Reconnection Before Magnetopause Reconnection Driven by Interplanetary Tangential Discontinuity: A Three‐Dimensional Global Hybrid Simulation With Oblique Interplanetary Magnetic Field
Journal Article · Mon Nov 12 00:00:00 EST 2018 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics · OSTI ID:1852484

Interaction of interplanetary shocks and rotational discontinuities with the Earth`s bow shock
Journal Article · Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1996 · Journal of Geophysical Research · OSTI ID:1852484