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Dai L, Zhu M, Ren Y, Gonzalez W, Wang C, Sibeck D, Samsonov A, Escoubet P, Tang B, Zhang J, Branduardi-Raymont G. Global-scale magnetosphere convection driven by dayside magnetic reconnection. Nat Commun 2024; 15:639. [PMID: 38245508 PMCID: PMC10799867 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44992-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Plasma convection on a global scale is a fundamental feature of planetary magnetosphere. The Dungey cycle explains that steady-state convection within the closed part of the magnetosphere relies on magnetic reconnection in the nightside magnetospheric tail. Nevertheless, time-dependent models of the Dungey cycle suggest an alternative scenario where magnetospheric convection can be solely driven by dayside magnetic reconnection. In this study, we provide direct evidence supporting the scenario of dayside-driven magnetosphere convection. The driving process is closely connected to the evolution of Region 1 and Region 2 field-aligned currents. Our global simulations demonstrate that intensified magnetospheric convection and field-aligned currents progress from the dayside to the nightside within 10-20 minutes, following a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field. Observational data within this short timescale also reveal enhancements in both magnetosphere convection and the ionosphere's two-cell convection. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms driving planetary magnetosphere convection, with implications for the upcoming Solar-Wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Dai
- National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Minghui Zhu
- National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Yong Ren
- National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Walter Gonzalez
- National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Chi Wang
- National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - David Sibeck
- Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Greenbelt, US
| | - Andrey Samsonov
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Dorking, UK
| | - Philippe Escoubet
- European Space Research and Technology Centre, European Space Agency (ESA), Noordwijk, Netherlands
| | - Binbin Tang
- National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jiaojiao Zhang
- National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
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Zhang QH, Zhang YL, Wang C, Lockwood M, Yang HG, Tang BB, Xing ZY, Oksavik K, Lyons LR, Ma YZ, Zong QG, Moen JI, Xia LD. Multiple transpolar auroral arcs reveal insight about coupling processes in the Earth's magnetotail. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:16193-16198. [PMID: 32601186 PMCID: PMC7368316 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2000614117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A distinct class of aurora, called transpolar auroral arc (TPA) (in some cases called "theta" aurora), appears in the extremely high-latitude ionosphere of the Earth when interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is northward. The formation and evolution of TPA offers clues about processes transferring energy and momentum from the solar wind to the magnetosphere and ionosphere during a northward IMF. However, their formation mechanisms remain poorly understood and controversial. We report a mechanism identified from multiple-instrument observations of unusually bright, multiple TPAs and simulations from a high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) global MagnetoHydroDynamics (MHD) model. The observations and simulations show an excellent agreement and reveal that these multiple TPAs are generated by precipitating energetic magnetospheric electrons within field-aligned current (FAC) sheets. These FAC sheets are generated by multiple-flow shear sheets in both the magnetospheric boundary produced by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability between supersonic solar wind flow and magnetosphere plasma, and the plasma sheet generated by the interactions between the enhanced earthward plasma flows from the distant tail (less than -100 RE) and the enhanced tailward flows from the near tail (about -20 RE). The study offers insight into the complex solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling processes under a northward IMF condition, and it challenges existing paradigms of the dynamics of the Earth's magnetosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing-He Zhang
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, 264209, China;
| | - Yong-Liang Zhang
- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723
| | - Chi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Michael Lockwood
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6BB, United Kingdom
| | - Hui-Gen Yang
- Ministry of Natural Resources Key Laboratory of Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, 200136, China
| | - Bin-Bin Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Zan-Yang Xing
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, 264209, China
| | - Kjellmar Oksavik
- Department of Physics and Technology, Birkeland Centre for Space Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, N-5020, Norway
- Arctic Geophysics Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, N-9171, Norway
| | - Larry R Lyons
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Yu-Zhang Ma
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, 264209, China
| | - Qiu-Gang Zong
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Jøran Idar Moen
- Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo 0371, Norway
- Arctic Geophysics Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, N-9171, Norway
| | - Li-Dong Xia
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, 264209, China
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Jia X, Hansen KC, Gombosi TI, Kivelson MG, Tóth G, DeZeeuw DL, Ridley AJ. Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics of Saturn's magnetosphere: A global MHD simulation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2012ja017575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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