Parametric Regimes of Thin Current Sheets in Planetary Magnetospheres and Solar Wind

IF 2.6 2区 地球科学 Q2 ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
David S. Tonoian, Xiao-Jia Zhang, Anton Artemyev, Qianli Ma, Robert W. Ebert, Frederic Allegrini
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Abstract

Current sheets are quasi-1D layers of strong current density, which play a crucial role in storing magnetic field energy and subsequently releasing it through charged particle acceleration and plasma heating. They are observed in planetary magnetospheres and solar wind flows, where they are also known as solar wind discontinuities. Despite significant variations in plasma parameters across different magnetospheres and the solar wind, current sheet configurations can remain fundamentally similar. In this study, we analyze current sheets observed in various regions, including the near-Earth (within 30 Earth radii) and distant (50–200 Earth radii) magnetotail, Earth's dayside and nightside magnetosheath, the near-Earth solar wind, and Martian and Jovian magnetotails. We examine three key plasma parameters: the plasma beta (ratio of plasma to magnetic pressure), the Alfvénic Mach number (ratio of plasma bulk flow speed to Alfvén speed in the current sheet reference frame), and the ion to electron temperature ratio. Additionally, we investigate the kinetic, thermal, and magnetic field energy densities. Our cross-system analysis demonstrates that the same current sheet configuration can exist across a very wide parametric space spanning multiple orders of magnitude. We also highlight the distinct plasma environments of the Martian and Jovian magnetotails, characterized by large populations of heavy ions, emphasizing their significance in comparative magnetospheric studies.

行星磁层和太阳风中薄电流片的参数化机制
电流片是具有强电流密度的准一维层,它在储存磁场能量并随后通过带电粒子加速和等离子体加热释放磁场能量方面起着至关重要的作用。它们在行星磁层和太阳风流中被观察到,在那里它们也被称为太阳风不连续。尽管不同磁层和太阳风的等离子体参数存在显著差异,但电流片的结构可以保持基本相似。在这项研究中,我们分析了在不同区域观测到的电流片,包括近地(30个地球半径范围内)和远地(50-200个地球半径范围内)磁尾、地球日侧和夜侧磁鞘、近地太阳风以及火星和木星磁尾。我们研究了三个关键的等离子体参数:等离子体β(等离子体与磁压的比值),alfv马赫数(在电流片参考系中等离子体体积流动速度与alfv速度的比值),以及离子与电子的温度比。此外,我们还研究了动力学、热学和磁场的能量密度。我们的跨系统分析表明,相同的电流片结构可以在跨越多个数量级的非常宽的参数空间中存在。我们还强调了火星和木星磁尾的不同等离子体环境,以大量重离子为特征,强调了它们在比较磁层研究中的重要性。
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来源期刊
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Earth and Planetary Sciences-Geophysics
CiteScore
5.30
自引率
35.70%
发文量
570
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