Solar wind transport into magnetosphere caused by magnetic reconnection at high latitude magnetopause during northward IMF: Cluster-DSP conjunction observations  

作　　者：M. DUNLOP E. LUCEK H. RME C. M. CARR 

机构地区：[1]Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, United Kingdom [2]Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, United Kingdom [3]CESR, BP4346, 31028 Toulouse Cedex 4, France

出　　处：《Science China(Technological Sciences)》2008年第10期1677-1684,共8页中国科学（技术科学英文版）

基　　金：the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2006CB806305);the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40621003, 40674094);the Hundred Talents Program of the CAS

摘　　要：An event of Cluster-Double Star conjunction observations of magnetic reconnec-tion at high latitude magnetopause nightside of both cusps and solar wind trans-port into magnetosphere caused by such reconnection process has been investi-gated. During northward IMF, Cluster/SC1 observed accelerated flows and ion heating associated with magnetic reconnection at high latitude magnetopause nightside of southern cusp. And Double Star observed cold dense solar wind plasma transported into dayside magnetosphere. The analysis on such conjunction observations shows that: (1) during northward IMF, magnetic reconnection occurs at high latitude nightside of southern cusp, accompanied by accelerated flows that are observed by Cluster/SC1; (2) the direction of the accelerated flows, with its sunward component Vx, dawnward component Vy, northward component Vz, is quite consistent with the theoretical anticipation under the condition of northward IMF with dawnward component By; (3) reconnection can heat plasma more in par-allel direction than in perpendicular direction, to a level of about 4 keV; (4) with reconnection taking place at high latitude magnetopause nightside of the southern cusp, TC-1 observed cold and dense plasma transported into magnetosphere; (5) by reconnection at high latitude magnetopause nightside of both cusps, solar wind flux tube can be captured by magnetosphere and pulled into dayside magneto-sphere. This event presents further observational evidence for magnetic reconnec-tion at high latitude magnetopause nightside of both cusps as an important mech-anism of sol-ar w-ind transport into magnetosphere.An event of Cluster-Double Star conjunction observations of magnetic reconnection at high latitude magnetopause nightside of both cusps and solar wind transport into magnetosphere caused by such reconnection process has been investigated. During northward IMF, Cluster/SC1 observed accelerated flows and ion heating associated with magnetic reconnection at high latitude magnetopause nightside of southern cusp. And Double Star observed cold dense solar wind plasma transported into dayside magnetosphere. The analysis on such conjunction observations shows that: (1) during northward IMF, magnetic reconnection occurs at high latitude nightside of southern cusp, accompanied by accelerated flows that are observed by Cluster/SC1; (2) the direction of the accelerated flows, with its sunward component V x , dawnward component V y , northward component V z , is quite consistent with the theoretical anticipation under the condition of northward IMF with dawnward component B y ; (3) reconnection can heat plasma more in parallel direction than in perpendicular direction, to a level of about 4 keV; (4) with reconnection taking place at high latitude magnetopause nightside of the southern cusp, TC-1 observed cold and dense plasma transported into magnetosphere; (5) by reconnection at high latitude magnetopause nightside of both cusps, solar wind flux tube can be captured by magnetosphere and pulled into dayside magnetosphere. This event presents further observational evidence for magnetic reconnection at high latitude magnetopause nightside of both cusps as an important mechanism of solar wind transport into magnetosphere.

关 键 词：TRANSPORT process magnetic RECONNECTION solar wind-magnetosphere interactions 

分 类 号：P353[天文地球—空间物理学]