Magnetic Field Reconstruction for a Realistic Multi-Point, Multi-Scale Spacecraft Observatory

Journal Article · 13 September 2021 · Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2021.727076 · OSTI ID:1823164

Broeren, T. ^[1]; Klein, K. G. ^[1]; TenBarge, J. M. ^[2]; Dors, Ivan ^[3]; Roberts, O. W. ^[3]; Verscharen, D. ^[4]

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1. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
2. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
3. Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz (Austria)
4. Univ. College London (United Kingdom); Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)

Future in situ space plasma investigations will likely involve spatially distributed observatories comprised of multiple spacecraft, beyond the four and five spacecraft configurations currently in operation. Inferring the magnetic field structure across the observatory, and not simply at the observation points, is a necessary step towards characterizing fundamental plasma processes using these unique multi-point, multi-scale data sets. We propose improvements upon the classic first-order reconstruction method, as well as a second-order method, utilizing magnetometer measurements from a realistic nine-spacecraft observatory. The improved first-order method, which averages over select ensembles of four spacecraft, reconstructs the magnetic field associated with simple current sheets and numerical simulations of turbulence accurately over larger volumes compared to second-order methods or first-order methods using a single regular tetrahedron. Using this averaging method on data sets with fewer than nine measurement points, the volume of accurate reconstruction compared to a known magnetic vector field improves approximately linearly with the number of measurement points.

• Research Organization: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation (NSF); Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC); Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC); USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-09CH11466
• OSTI ID: 1823164
• Journal Information: Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, Journal Name: Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences Vol. 8; ISSN 2296-987X
• Publisher: Frontiers Research FoundationCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English